HE  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey 
City,  New  Jersey. 


I 


LIBRARY  OF  PRINCETON 


JAN    14    200- 


THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


BX,.8949 


^J47,I42„1888, 


'fnbfieT  Cnarles  Kisselman, 

1814-1891. 
History  of  the  First 

Presbyterian  Church  of 


H  ISTORY 


FIRST   PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH 


^"^JERSE  Y  CITY,   NE  W  J  ERSE  Y. 


IN  FOUR  DISCOURSES  PREACHED  IN  THE  MONTH  OF  JULY,  1S76. 


THE  DISCOURSE  PREACHED  AT  THE  CLOSING  OF  SERVICES  IN  THE 
CHURCH  BUILDING,  SUNDAY  MORNING,  APRIL  29,  1888. 


CHARLES    K.'aMBRIE, 

Pastor  of  the  Church, 


NEW   YORK: 


LIBRARY  OF  PRINCETON 


JAN    14    2004 


THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


ANSON    D.    F.    RANDOLPH    &    COMPANY, 

38  WEST  TWENTY-THIRD  STREET. 


PRESS    OF 

EDWARD    0      JENKINS'     SONS, 

NEW    YORK. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 


Preface,  .......       s 

Sermon  I.,  ......  7 

Sermon  II.,     .  .  .  .  .  .  -31 

Sermon  III.,         .  .  .  .  .  .51 

Sermon  IV.,    .  .  .  .  .  .  .65 

Preface  to  Sermon  V.,  ....  91 

Sermon  V.,     .  .  .  .  .  .  -95 

List  of  Trustees,  .  .  .  .  .121 

History  of  the  Sunday-School,  ....  126 


PREFACE 


The  first  four  of  the  following  discourses  were  preached  in  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City  on  successive  Sabbath 
mornings  in  the  month  of  July,  1876,  in  compliance  with  the  rec- 
ommendation of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  year  1873  (see 
Minutes  of  the  General  Assembly,  page  490),  that  that  month  in 
the  Centennial  year  of  the  country  should  be  used  as  the  occasion 
for  presenting  from  the  pulpit  the  histories  of  the  churches  in  our 
denomination  throughout  the  land.  It  was  intended  to  publish 
them  immediately  after  their  delivery.  But  owing  to  circum- 
stances, which  need  not  be  here  stated,  this  design  was  postponed. 

Even  at  that  time  it  began  to  be  very  plain,  as  will  be  seen  in 
the  close  of  the  fourth  discourse,  that,  sooner  or  later,  the  church 
building  must  be  removed  and  the  congregation  seek  other  quar- 
ters. When,  at  length,  after  twelve  years  of  further  labor  it  was 
decided  to  dispose  of  the  church  building,  the  desire  was  revived 
that  these  discourses  should  be  published  and  be  followed  by  the 
sermon  preached  by  the  pastor  at  the  closing  services  held  in  the 
church  just  before  his  announcing  the  dissolution  of  the  long  con- 
tinued pastoral  relation  between  himself  and  the  congregation. 
This  sermon  is  the  fifth  in  the  present  volume.  It  was  judged 
best  to  print  the  former  ones  just  as  they  were  originally  delivered, 
without  pausing  to  correct  them  in  reference  to  the  changes  which 
lad  occurred  in  the  interval.  A  number  of  persons  represented 
as  living  in  1876  have  since  deceased.  These  and  some  other 
changes  are  simply  noted  in  the  margin  ;  and  a  few  other  notes 
are  there  added  also  to  explain  or  illustrate  the  statements  in  the 
discourses.  It  may  be  proper  to  state  that  the  corporate  title  of 
the  church  whose  history  mainly  occupies  the  following  pages 
has  always  been  "  The  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City."    But 


6  Preface. 

as  other  Presbyterian  churches  have  since  been  organized  wjthin 
the  city,  it  has  usually  been  called  for  the  sake  of  convenience 
"  The  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City."  And  this  title 
is  used  in  reference  to  it  throughout  this  history. 

These  discourses,  such  as  they  are,  are  now  sent  forth  to  the 
many  attendants  upon  the  services  held  in  former  and  in  later 
years,  in  this  old  historic  building,  in  the  belief  that  they,  at  least, 
will  be  interested  in  seeing  revived  these  scenes  of  the  past,  and 
in  the  hope  that  they  may  be  prompted  thereby  to  look  forward 
with  increased  faith  and  hope  and  longing  toward  the  coming 
Kingdom  of  God  when  our  separations  shall  be  at  an  end  and  we 
shall  be  forever  together  with  the  Lord. 

Chas.  K.  Imbrie. 

Jersey  City,  September  i,  1888. 


SERMON    I. 

•  "  So  he  built  the'house,  and  finished  it ;  and  covered  the  house  with  beams  and 
boards  of  cedar.  And  then  he  built  chambers  against  all  the  house  five  cubits  high  ; 
and  they  rested  on  the  house  with  timber  of  cedar.  And  the  word  of  the  Lord  came 
to  Solomon,  saying,  Concerning  this  house  which  thou  art  in  building,  if  thou  wilt 
walk  in  my  statutes,  and  execute  my  judgments,  and  keep  all  my  commandments  to 
walk  in  them  ;  then  will  I  perform  my  word  with  thee,  which  I  spake  unto  David 
thy  father  ;  And  I  will  dwell  among  the  children  of  Israel,  and  will  not  forsake  my 
people  Israel." — i  Kings  vi.  9-13. 

Such  is  God's  promise  concerning  the  temple  built  by 
Solomon.  Such  is  the  condition  upon  which  the  promise 
to  Israel  rests  regarding  it.  And  such  is  the  glory  which 
was  sure  to  follow  the  performance  of  the  condition.  In  a 
certain  and  proper  sense  this  is  true  of  every  house  builded 
for  the  proclamation  of  the  Lord's  name  and  for  the  decla- 
ration of  His  truth  and  for  the  administration  of  His  ordi- 
nances and  the  worship  of  His  people.  That  sure  promise, 
"  If  thou  wilt  walk  in  my  statutes  and  keep  all  my  com- 
mandments, I  will  perform  my  word  unto  thee,"  is  for 
those  who  worship  in  these  also.  And  it  is  this  which  sets 
such  buildings  apart  from  buildings  devoted  to  other  pur- 
poses. While  they  last  it  confers  upon  thern  a  glory  and 
an  honor  which  renders  them  places  of  peculiar  blessedness 
to  those  who  are  therein  accustomed,  from  generation  to 
generation,  to  meet  the  Lord  in  His  ordinances.  And 
when,  in  the  course  of  time,  these  structures  have  passed 
away  it  associates  these  buildings  with  the  tenderest  and 
most  precious  memories. 

It  has  been  judged  by  our  General  Assembly  appropriate 
to  this  Centennial  year,  in  which  our  land  rejoices  together 
over  the  national  mercies  with  which  the  century  has  been 
crowned,  to  devote  the  Sabbath  before  our  National  Anni- 


8  History  of  the 

versary,  for  presenting  the  history  of  the  several  churches 
of  our  denomination.  Such  a  record  of  the  beginnings  and 
progress  of  places  devoted  to  God's  worship  is  not  without 
Scriptural  warrant.  Not  only  is  the  history  of  the  rise  and 
formation  of  the  worshipping  congregation  of  God's  people 
recorded,  but  the  very  stones  of  memorial  in  the  channel  of 
the  Jordan  and  on  its  banks  are  held  in  honor.  With  what 
minute  detail,  in  the  Scriptures  too,  has  the  Spirit  of  God 
honored  the  gradual  erection  of  the  tabernacle  in  the  wilder- 
ness and  also  this  very  temple  of  Solomon.  The  very  carved 
work  of  the  sanctuary  was  precious  (Psalm  Ixxiv.  6,  7).  True, 
there  were  special  occasions  for  this  in  these  particular  cases, 
inasmuch  as  God  only  could,  of  right,  prescribe  the  forms  and 
circumstances  of  His  own  worship.  But  apart  from  this, 
what  minute  detail  is  given  as  to  the  preparation  and  silent 
erection  of  the  stones  of  the  building,  the  arrangement  of 
the  chambers  and  other  particulars  of  mere  construction. 
And  so  precious  was  the  very  building  itself  that  even  when 
the  foundations  of  the  second  temple  were  laid,  as  has  not 
been  deemed  unworthy  of  record  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  it 
was  not  without  sore  weeping  that  the  greater  glories  of 
the  earlier  House  of  the  Lord  rose  up  in  their  memories. 
Nor  is  it  wrong  to  bring  to  remembrance  the  names  of  the 
men  whose  zeal  and  activity  have  been  instrumental  in  God's 
hands  for  founding  and  building  these  houses  of  God  where 
so  many  have  enjoyed  the  holy  ordinances  of  Christianity 
and  had  their  souls  nourished  for  heaven.  It  was  no  mean 
recommendation  which  the  Jews  offered  to  Christ  in  behalf 
of  the  centurion,  when  they  said  of  this  benevolent  Gentile, 
"  He  loveth  our  nation  and  hath  built  us  a  synagogue." 

Not  that  we  need  carry  this  to  excess.  Not  that  Chris- 
tians should  ever  forget  that  we  are  but  pilgrims  and  stran- 
gers here  after  all,  and  our  true  house  of  worship,  as  "  our 
citizenship,"  is  above  and  in  the  future,  and  that  all  these 
present  places  of  solemn  worship — the  old  temple,  the  syna- 
gogues, and  the  New  Testament  churches — just  as  our  na- 
tions and  our  earthly  habitations  are  temporary,  and  are 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  g 

passing  away  to  give  place  to  the  permanent  house  and 
kingdom  of  God  in  the  future,  whereon  alone  our  hearts 
are  therefore  to  dwell.  Even  of  the  temple  Christ  could 
say  with  a  sort  of  indifference,  "  The  time  cometh  when 
neither  in  this  mountain  nor  yet  at  Jerusalem  shall  men 
worship  the  Father."  And  yet  perhaps  even  in  the  king- 
dom there  shall  be  a  fond  recollection  of  the  old  sites  and 
the  old  tabernacles  of  the  Lord  wherein  God's  people  have 
been  refreshed  in  the  wilderness ;  and  there  shall  be  many  a 
sweet  conversation  of  the  saints  pointing  back  to  sacred 
scenes  on  the  journey  toward  the  place  of  rest.  The  staves 
which  had  carried  the  ark  of  the  covenant  during  its  wan- 
derings were  indeed  drawn  out  when  the  ark  had  found  a 
settled  rest  in  the  new  temple ;  and  yet  the  ends  of  the 
staves  were  still  placed  in  view  as  a  fond  remembrance  of 
God's  past  mercies  toward  His  tabernacle  and  His  people 
while  they  were  still  in  the  weary  wilderness. 

Let  us  then  trace  the  beginnings  and  progress  of  our 
branch  of  the  Church  of  God  in  this  city. 

The  Presbyterians  were  among  the  first,  if  not  the  very 
first,  who'  held  regular  worship  in  this  part  of  what  is  now 
called  Jersey  City,  and  known  at  that  time  as  "  Paulus' 
Hoeck"  (Paul's  Corner).  The  Episcopalians  are  known  to 
have  held  worship  here  nearly  as  early.  Mr.  Winfield,  in 
his  "  History  of  Hudson  County,"  p.  391,  states  that  St. 
Matthew's  Episcopal  Church  was  organized  August  21, 1808, 
and  that  Trustees  were  elected  in  December  of  the  same 
year.  He  states  also  that  at  first  the  services  were  held  in 
the  "  Jersey  Academy,"  built  by  the  town  authorities,  and 
completed  in  February,  1807.  Whether  the  Episcopalians 
had  services  before  their  organization  in  1808  I  do  not 
know.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Taylor  also  states*  that  a  desire  was 
expressed  by  the  inhabitants  of  Jersey  City  to  have  a  Re- 
formed Dutch  Church  organized  in  1807.     But  nothing  came 

*"  Annals  of  the  Classis  and  Township  of  Bergen,"  by  Benjamin 
C.  Taylor,  D.D.,  p.  343. 


10  Hislory  of  the 

of  this.  Now,  as  nearly  as  I  can  make  it  out,  for  several  years 
previous  to  these  dates  (in  1804)  the  Presbyterians  were 
holding  services.  Mr.  Stephen  Seaman,  son  of  one  of  the 
early  elders  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  here,  and  now*  living 
in  this  city,  tells  me  that  his  father's  family  removed  here 
from  Ellis'  Island  in  1805.  And  he  states  distinctly  that  at 
that  time  the  old  Academy  building  (of  which  I  shall  speak 
presently)  had  just  been  finished,  and  that  regular  Presby- 
terian services  were  held  in  this  building  when  his  father's 
family  took  up  their  abode  here.  These  services  were  con- 
ducted most  probably  by  Supplies  obtained  from  the  Pres- 
bytery of  New  York  or  the  Presbytery  of  Jersey.  It  must 
be  understood,  however,  that  at  this  time  there  was  not  a 
regular  organization.  These  were  merely  assemblies  for 
Presbyterian  \\-orship.  The  organization  took  place  in  1809. 
I  have  in  my  possession  a  letter  f  in  the  handwriting  of  the 
late  Rev.  Samuel  Miller,  D.D.,  of  Princeton,  N.  J.,  in  which 
he  says  :  "The  history  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Jersey 
City  is  short  and  easily  told.  On  the  loth  day  of  January, 
A.D.  1809,  a  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  in  this  city 
by  him  who  now  addresses  you  " ;  and  he  further  says : 
"  My  impression  is  that  it  was  the  first  church  of  any  de- 
nomination that  was  organized  in  the  place.";}:  This  marks 
the  organization  clearly.  I  supplement  this  by  a  reminis- 
cence of  the  Rev.  Dr.  B.  C.  Taylor,§  of  Bergen,  who  informs 
me  that  he  has  a  distinct  recollection  of  Dr.  Miller  telling 
him  that  when  he  came  to  Jersey  City  and  organized  the 
church,  he  ordained  two  elders.  Who  these  elders  were  is 
not  certainly  known.  The  probability  is  that  one  of  them 
was  Mr.  James  Morrison,  who  is  known  to  have  afterward 

*In  1876. 

+  An  extract  from  a  sermon  preached  by  him  at  the  dedication  of 
the  Presbj'terian  Church  of  Jersey  City  in  1845. 

X  The  Episcopalians  were  four  and  a  half  months  earlier  in  organ- 
ization, but  not  in  preaching  services. 

§  In  1876.     Since  deceased. 


First  Presbyterian  Lhurch  of  Jersey  City.  ii 

long  served  in  that  capacity.  And  I  judge  that  the  other 
was  Mr.  John  Seaman,  although  his  son  thinks  not.  Mr. 
Stephen  Seaman  tells  me  that  he  is  sure  his  father  was  not 
ordained  elder  of  the  church  until  some  years  after  his  ar- 
rival. But  this  would  still  allow  four  years  to  intervene ; 
and  I  presume,  as  no  other  name  offers,  that  he  was  the 
other  elder  whom  Dr.  Miller  ordained.  The  impression  of 
Dr.  Taylor  is  that  Dr.  Miller  stated  to  him  that  this  organ- 
ization died  out.  And  some  others  also  have  the  impres- 
sion that  it  was  extinguished.  But  this  is  evidently  a  mis- 
take. Dr.  Miller's  own  language  is:  "They  continued 
worshipping  in  the  school-house  which  they  were  occupying, 
if  I  mistake  not,  until  about  the  year  1824."  But  in  addi- 
tion to  this,  Mr.  Stephen  Seaman,  who  has  lived  here  ever 
since,*  assures  me  that  the  church's  services  were  never  dis- 
continued, but  went  on  until  the  year  1827,  when  the  con- 
gregation had  erected  a  building  and  moved  into  their  new 
edifice  in  Grand  Street — the  same  building  which  afterward 
passed  into  the  possession  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church. 
On  the  same  authority  we  find  that  these  services  were  reg- 
ularly held  in  the  same  place  (the  Academy  building),  with 
occasional  exceptions,  when  for  one  reason  or  another  the 
congregation  met  in  a  private  dwelling.  The  history  then 
of  the  First  Presbyterian  Congregation  of  Jersey  City  was 
continuous  and  not  broken  up  and  then  afterward  replaced 
by  a  second  organization.  Beginning  with  stated  preaching 
about  the  year  1804,  it  became  regularly  organized,  accom- 
panied by  the  ordination  of  elders,  in  1809,  and  thence  on- 
ward maintained  regular  worship  by  supplies  until  it  was 
incorporated  in  1825,  and  not  very  long  afterward  occupied 
its  new  building  in  Grand  Street,  and  so  continued  until  its 
transfer  to  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church.  It  was  a  period 
of  feebleness,  indeed  ;  but  nevertheless  of  continued  life  for 
about  twenty-three  years. 

I  now  return  to  Dr.  Miller's  paper.     He  says  further: 

*  In  1876. 


12  History  of  the 

"  What  is  now  a  populous  city  was  then  a  small  village, 
or  rather  an  inconsiderable  hamlet,  and  the  congregation 
was,  of  course,  feeble,  and  found  some  difificulty  in  main- 
taining the  ordinances  of  religion.  They  worshipped  in  a 
public  school-house,  and  continued  to  occupy  that  building 
for  a  number  of  years  ;  part  of  the  time  in  connection  with 
a  small  body  of  Episcopalians  who  worshipped  every  other 
Sabbath  in  the  same  humble  edifice.  During  this  period  it 
was  my  privilege,  a  number  of  times,  to  preach  to  this  con- 
gregation." 

I  quote  this  passage  as  it  refers  to  the  town  itself,  to  the 
place  in  which  the  people  worshipped,  and  to  the  mode  of 
supply.     Of  these  I  wish  to  speak. 

As  to  the  town  at  the  time,  Dr.  Miller  calls  it  "  a  small 
village,"  or  rather,  "  an  inconsiderable  hamlet."  He  refers, 
of  course,  to  old  Paulus  Hoecli.  This  was  a  sand  heap, 
made  at  high  tide  an  island,  with  a  salt  marsh  and  a  stream 
running  through  what  is  now  Warren  Street,  toward  Greene 
Street,  from  Communipaw  Cove  below  to  Harsimus  Cove. 
It  became  the  property  of  "The  Jersey  City  Associates," 
incorporated  about  the  same  time  that  Presbyterian  preach- 
ing was  begun,  or  five  years  earlier  than  Dr.  Miller's 
reference.  It  was  bounded  off  from  the  adjacent  land 
(or  Mr.  Cornelius  Van  Vorst's  farm),  by  this  stream  of 
water,  which,  extending  from  cove  to  cove,  though  shal- 
low at  low  tide  and  even  dry  in  parts,  was,  at  high  tide, 
filled  to  the  depth  of  six  feet,  and  was  easily  traversed 
throughout  by  rowing-boats.  Mr.  Stephen  Seaman  tells 
me  that  his  father,  in  the  very  earliest  years  of  the  century, 
moved  from  New  York  and  kept  house  on  Ellis  Island, 
and  that  often  the  passengers  from  Philadelphia  to  New 
York  were  detained  late  at  night,  and  were  poled,  in  a  cov- 
ered boat,  to  the  island,  and  the  inmates  were  roused  to  get 
them  supper.  He  also  states  that  this  same  island  was 
often  resorted  to  from  Paulus  Hoeck  by  pleasure  parties 
who  went  thither  to  enjoy  the  cool  shade  and  the  oyster 
suppers.     Quite  a  bed  of  these  shell-fish  was  kept  supplied 


First  Presbyterian  Chitrck  of  Jersey  City.  13 

at  the  end  of  the  island.  Paulus  Hoeck  itself,  looked,  as  I 
said,  like  a  sand  bank.  The  beach,  or  landing,  was  just  as 
it  had  always  been.  Roadways  had  been  cut  through,  which 
are  now  our  streets.  Three  years  before  (1802)  there  were 
resident  on  the  island  only  thirteen  persons.*  And  when 
the  Seaman  family  came  in  1805,  Mr.  Seaman  judges  that, 
on  the  whole  island,  there  were  not  more  than  a  dozen 
houses,  with  the  remains  of  two  forts. 

Among  these  houses,  however,  was  one  structure,  in  which 
we  are  particularly  interested.  It  is  the  one  in  which,  for 
more  than  twenty  years,  our  Presbyterian  predecessors,  led 
by  different  ministers,  worshipped  God,  on  alternate  Sab- 
baths, with  the  Episcopalians  under  the  charge,  first,  of  the 
Rev.  Timothy  Clowes,  and  next  under  that  of  the  late  Rev. 
Edward  D.  Barry,  D.D.  This  house  still  stands — -a  relic  of 
the  past — a  few  yards  from  us,  on  Sussex  Street,  between 
Washington  and  Warren  Streets.f  After  many  inquiries, 
I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  certainly  who  erected  this 
building  or  the  date  of  its  erection.  The  statements  are 
conflicting.  Mr.  Winfield  states  that  it  was  finished  in 
February,  xioj.X  Mr.  Seaman,  on  the  contrary,  states  that 
it  was  already  built,  and  was  new  when  he  arrived  in  1805, 
and  that  worship  was  then  held  in  it.  In  the  "  New  Jersey 
Register,"  a  small  volume  published  in  18 10  by  Timothy 
Alden,  and  loaned  to  me  by  Hon.  Robert  Gilchrist, §  of  this 
city,  there  is  given  (p.  100)  an  account  of  the  incorporation 
of  "The  Jersey  Academy."  This  took  place  May  12, 1808. 
The  Trustees  were  Amasa  Jackson,  Joseph  Lyon,  Henry 
Caldwell,  David  Hunt,  Samuel  Beach,  Philip  Williams ; 
and  Reuben  Winchell  was  Preceptor.  It  has  always  been 
known  as  "  The  Academy."  And  it  is  certain  that  it  was 
built  for  school  purposes.  Dr.  Benjamin  C.  Taylor's  sugges- 
tion is  therefore  probably  correct,  that  it  was  erected  by  the 

*  Winfield's  History.     He  gives  the  names. 

t  In  1876.     Since  removed.  X  Winfield's  History,  p.  392. 

§  Deceased  1888. 


14  History  of  the 

township  of  Bergen  as  a  public  school-house  and  afterward 
was  incorporated,  and  that  the  use  of  it  lov  church  purposes 
was  an  afterthought.  I  have  already  referred  to  Mr.  Sea- 
man's statement  that  it  was  just  finished  when  his  father's 
family  came  here  to  live  in  1805,  and  that  at  that  time  it 
was  already  used  both  for  school  and  church  purposes.  In- 
deed it  is  certain  that  both  were  provided  for ;  for  the  lower 
story  was  fitted  up  as  a  school-room  and  the  upper  story 
arranged  for  religious  services.  After  the  incorporation  of 
Jersey  City  in  1820,  it  was  called  "The  Town  Hall,"  and 
was  used,  I  am  told,  when  the  city  ceased  to  be  governed 
by  the  "Select  Men,"  in  1838,  for  the  induction  of  the 
Hon.  Dudley  S.  Gregory,  the  first  Mayor,  into  office.  There 
has  been  a  question  whether  it  has  always  stood  on  the 
same  foundation.  Dr.  Theodore  X.Varick*  has  a  clear 
remembrance  of  two  cells  having  been  built  underneath  it, 
during  his  boyhood,  for  the  retention  of  prisoners,  and  of 
his  looking  through  the  bars,  with  boyish  awe,  at  the  places 
of  criminal  confinement.  And  he  has  a  very  strong  im- 
pression that  the  building  was,  at  that  time,  moved  back  a 
considerable  distance  from  its  former  position  on  the  street. 
That  the  cells  were  built,  there  is  no  doubt.  The  place  of 
them  is  pointed  out  to-day.  But  the  recollection  of  others 
of  the  old  inhabitants  is  so  clear  (£'._^.,  Mr.  David  Smith  and 
Mr.  Seaman),  that  it  has  never  been  removed,  that  we 
judge  it  stands  now  where  it  always  did,  but  that  it  was 
altered  for  the  purpose  already  mentioned.  As  all  agree, 
it  faced  on  what  is  now  Sussex  Street.  One  authority  (Mr. 
W.  Stone,  of  Jersey  City,)  declares  that  it  originally  stood 
with  the  gable-end  toward  the  street.  It  stood,  however, 
alone.  As  our  Presbyterian  friends  went  up  to  it  there  was 
no  other  house  near.  A  row  of  Lombardy  poplars  stood  in 
front,  and  a  pathway  led  from  the  Grand  Street  side  across 
the  lot.  Those  who  attended  worship  from  that  side  were 
accustomed  to  drive  from  Grand  Street  across  the  lot  in  the 

*  Since  deceased,  1887. 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  15 

rear  of  the  building.  What  is  now  Washington  Street  was 
opened.  From  below  the  Academy  a  continuous  hill  rose 
as  one  looked  along  Sussex  to  Greene  Street.  This  was  one 
of  the  forts  alluded  to.  In  the  same  manner  a  rising  ground 
stood  on  Essex  Street,  at  the  foot  of  Washington  Street, 
about  forty  feet  distant.  Here  was  the  second  fort.  There 
was  a  redoubt,  or  hollow,  along  which  soldiers  could  pass 
from  one  to  the  other  in  safety.  This  passed  down  Wash- 
ington Street.  This  I  have  from  Mr.  Seaman,  who  tells  me 
that  he  has  several  times  seen  "  little  Stephen  Decatur,"  as 
he  calls  him,  bring  out  his  men  from  the  vessel  below  and 
exercise  them  in  the  place  between  the  two  forts,  on  the 
ground  fronting  the  church  where  we  now  are.  I  mention 
this  circumstance  as  it  will  account  for  the  apparent  dis- 
crepancy in  the  recollection  of  those  who  remember  this  old 
place  of  worship  and  school  several  years  later,  in  their 
childhood.  Some  of  these  recall  it  as  standing  on  a  hill. 
To  others  it  stands  out  in  memory  as  being  on  a  level,  or 
even  somewhat  in  a  hollow.  Approaching  the  place  of 
worship  from  Grand  Street,  it  did,  of  course,  seem  to  be  on 
a  hill,  because  part  of  Grand  Street  was  low.  While  stand- 
ing in  front  of  the  building  and  looking  up  east  and  south 
along  Sussex  Street  and  toward  Essex  Street,  it  seemed, 
viewed  from  the  higher  rising  ground,  to  be  (in  contrast 
with  the  bank  of  sand)  in  a  depression. 

In  this  unpretending  building,  through  weakness  and  dis- 
couragements, those  who  preceded  us  worshipped  God  ; 
Presbyterians  and  Episcopalians  both  endeavoring  to  lay 
the  foundations  for  these  separate  branches  of  the  Church 
of  God,  for  those  who  should  come  after  them.  And  a 
number  of  families  who  still  continue  to  attend  the  services 
of  the  Presbyterian,  Reformed,  and  Episcopal  churches  re- 
tain pleasant  memories  of  their  regular  rides  to  this  old 
house  of  worship,  in  their  early  childhood.  It  was  an  early 
time  indeed  for  Jersey  City;  a  time  when  the  houses  were 
so  few  in  this  now  compactly-built  city  that  a  family  car- 
riage starting  from  what  is  now   Henderson  and  Second 


l6  History  of  the 

Streets,  and  travelling  to  the  church  along  the  Newark  road, 
could  be  easily  seen  for  the  whole  distance  by  a  person 
standing  on  Grand  Street,  beside  the  church.* 

Who  were  the  preachers  who  ministered  to  this  congre- 
gation it  is  difficult  now  to  tell.  All  agree  that  there  was 
quite  a  number  of  them.  Among  these  we  are  sure  that 
Dr.  Samuel  Miller,  then  of  New  York,  appeared  occasion- 
ally. For  he  distinctly  says :  "  During  this  period  it  was 
my  privilege  a  number  of  tirries  to  preach  to  this  congrega- 
tion, who  continued  worshipping  in  the  school-house."  Be- 
sides him,  I  find,  in  an  old  almanac  loaned  me  by  our  At- 

*  To  give  some  further  idea  of  the  place  in  those  early  days,  I  quote 
some  personal  recollections  from  the  Jersey  City  Evening  Journal  of 
Jan.  19,  1883,  in  a  communication  by  the  late  Samuel  Bridgart,  who 
came  to  Jersey  City  in  1819,  and  lived  here  until  his  death.  He  says  of 
the  year  1819 :  "  At  that  time  there  were  only  400  inhabitants  in  the 
tract,  of  whom  Mr.  David  Smith  is  the  sole  survivor  now  living  within 
its  bounds."  .  ..."  In  the  central  portion  were  very  high  sand  hills, 
on  one  of  which  a  British  fort  was  located.  The  residence  of  Mr. 
David  Taylor  now  occupies  the  site  of  that  fort.  An  intrenchment 
ran  from  the  fort  to  the  bay.  The  old  revolutionary  burying-ground 
was  on  the  spot  now  bounded  by  Washington,  Sussex,  Morris,  and 
Warren  Streets,  and  when  the  sand  hills  were  graded  for  building 
purposes,  the  remains  of  soldiers  and  others  were  unearthed.  By 
order  of  the  late  Chas.  Dummer,  these  remains  were  placed  in  sugar 
hogsheads  and  buried  near  the  corner  of  Washington  and  Morris 
Streets.  I  saw  the  remains  of  a  British  officer  dug  up.  His  sl:ull  was 
in  a  good  state  of  preservation.  His  epaulets  and  sword  had  been 
buried  with  him."  .  ...  Of  the  primitive  ferry,  which  then  plied  be- 
tween Jersey  City  and  New  York,  he  says  :  "  There  were  two  boats — 
X.\\^  Jcrsty  and  the  York.  They  were  catamarans,  with  the  paddle  in 
the  middle  and  the  whole  decked  over.  It  took  twenty  minutes  to 
cross  the  river  in  summer,  but  in  the  winter  the  boats  were  frequently 
caught  in  the  ice  and  carried  down  as  far  as  Staten  Island.  A  Maj. 
Hunt  was  the  proprietor  at  one  time,  but  was  bought  out  by  Cadwall- 
ader  &  Colden.  The  ferriage  was  a  shilling,  or  twelve  and  a  half  cents. 
On  the  site  now  occupied  by  Colgate  &  Co.'s  soap  factory  stood  Lyon's 
Hotel,  whence  the  mail  coaches  plying  between  New  York  and  Phil- 
adelphia started.  The  building  still  stands  in  Grand  Street."  .... 
"  There  were  no  churches  in  Paulus  Hook  at  that  time,  but  the 
Presbyterians  occupied  the  old  school-house,  which  now  adjoins  St. 


First  Prcsbyterihn  Church  of  Jersey  City.  '  \^ 

torney-General,  Robert  Gilchrist,  Esq.,  the  name  of  the  Rev. 
Eliphalet  Price,  of  the  Presbytery  of  Jersey,  mentioned  as 
a  supply  for  Jersey  (i.  e.,  the  towns  of  Jersey)  and  Hacken- 
sack ;  and  also  the  name  of  the  Rev.  Alexander  Frazer,  of 
Elizabeth. 

The  Presbyterians  were  the  first  to  gather  strength 
enough  to  build  and  occupy  their  own  edifice.  During 
almost  all  these  years  they  had  no  regular  pastor,  nor  in- 
deed were  they  legally  incorporated,  as  I  shall  show,  and 
for  the  all-sufficient  reason,  I  suppose,  that  they  had  no 
property  to  be  held.     But  they  were  now  to  take  a  new 

Matthew's  Church.  They  divided  possession  with  the  Episcopa- 
lians. On  the  west  side  of  the  school-house,  a  beautiful  spot,  cov- 
ered with  greensward  and  shaded  by  lofty  poplars  and  spreading 
button-balls,  and  on  the  edge  of  the  bank,  under  one  of  the  latter, 
was  the  then  famous  '  Indian  Spring,'  to  which  the  people  flocked 
for  potable  water.  There  was  another  fine  spring  in  Essex  Street, 
west  of  Warren,  which  poured  forth  a  cold  stream  of  pure  water  out 
of  a  hollow  log.  There  was  no  house  near  the  school-house,  the 
nearest  being  on  what  is  now  York  Street,  east  of  Greene  Street,  on 
Sussex  Street,  east  of  Greene  Street,  on  Morris,  east  of  Washington, 
and  on  Essex  Street.  All  the  land  west  of  Warren  Street  was  salt 
meadow,  until  the  upland  was  reached.  The  only  avenue  of  ap- 
proach to  Paulus  Hook  was  a  road  which  has  since  become  Newark 
Avenue.  It  may  not  be  generally  known,  that  at  the  foot  of  what  is 
now  Morgan  Street — then  called  North  Point — Robert  Fulton  built 
his  first  steamboat.  The  old  wind-mill  stood  north  of  Montgomery 
Street  and  east  of  Greene  Street,  where  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
yard  now  is.  It  was  considered  the  best  mill  in  America,  and  was 
owned  by  Isaac  Edge.  The  old  '  Jersey  Bank  '  was  at  the  corner  of 
Grand  and  Greene  Streets,  where  the  Morris  Canal  and  Banking 
Company's  oflice  now  is.  Mr.  Durand  was  president  and  T.  B.  Kis- 
sam  cashier.  The  bonds  were  not  stolen  by  the  officers.  There 
were  few  curbs  and  gutters  to  the  streets  in  those  days.  There  was, 
of  course,  no  railroad,  and  New  York  depended  for  its  food  supplies 
upon  wagons.  Teams  of  from  four  to  six  horses  used  to  come  into 
the  market  ground,  where  Washington  Square  now  is,  all  the  way 
from  Pennsylvania,  bringing  produce  and  returning  with  'store 
goods.'  On  that  little  plot  the  produce  of  Sussex,  Warren,  Morris, 
Passaic,  Bergen,  and  other  counties  changed  hands." 
2 


l8  History  of  the 

step.  And  this  forms  the  second  epoch  in  the  history  of 
Presbyterianism  in  jersey  City — the  building  of  'i\i€\x  first 
house  of  worship. 

I  say  their  first  house  of  worship  ;  but  I  may  add  it  was, 
by  a  number  of  years,  the  first  house  of  worship  built  here 
by  any  denomination.  And  if  any  doubt  should  exist 
whether  the  Presbyterians  were  the  first  to  hold  religious 
services  in  this  city,  certainly  none  exists,  that  in  God's 
good  providence  they  were  the  first  to  build  a  house 
for  His  worship.  And  indeed  it  was  so  truly  the  only 
regular  church  building  in  the  place  for  several  years, 
that,  on  the  Sabbath,  persons  of  all  denominations— Epis- 
copalians, Reformed  Dutch,  and  others  as  well  as  Presbyte- 
rians— were  in  the  habit  of  attending  service  there,  although 
the  church  was  distinctively  Presbyterian. 

In  Dr.  Miller's  paper,  already  referred  to,  we  read  as  fol- 
lows: "A  short  time  before  the  year  1824  they  called  the 
Rev.  James  S.  Olcott  to  be  their  minister.  He  was  their 
first  stated  pastor,  and,  under  his  ministrations,  they  became 
so  far  strengthened  and  encouraged  as  to  undertake  the 
erection  of  a  house  of  worship." 

At  this  time,  therefore,  I  find  the  first  notice  of  the  incor- 
poration of  the  congregation.  I  hold  in  my  hands  the  orig- 
inal paper,  endorsed  "  Incorporation  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  and  Congregation  of  Jersey  City,"  and  marked  as 
recorded  in  the  Clerk's  office  in  the  County  of  Bergen,  on 
the  24th  day  of  December,  1825.*  This  paper  sets  forth 
that  the  subscribers  have  been  duly  elected  trustees  of  a 
church  and  congregation  in  Jersey  City,  have  taken  the  pre- 
scribed oaths,  and  that  the  church  is  to  be  known  and  distin- 
guished by  the  name  and  title  of  "  The  First  Presbyterian 
Church  and  Congregation  of  Jersey  City."  And  then'follow 
the  signatures  and  seals  of  the  first  trustees,  six  in  number: 
Samuel  Cassidy,  Robert  Gilchrist,  E.  R.  Dayton,  John  Con- 
dit,  John  Seaman,  A.  J.  Yates.     I  wish  you   to  note  this 

♦  Book  W.  2  of  Deeds. 


•   First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  19 

fact,  for  it  has  been  doubted  whether  this  was  ever  a  Pres- 
byterian organization.  And  even  within  a  few  days  I  have 
heard  it  intimated  that  there  was  some  doubt  whether  it 
was  a  Presbyterian  or  a  Reformed  Dutch.  This  point,  you 
see,  is  clearly  settled. 

As  has  already  been  mentioned,  the  Rev.  James  S.  Olcott 
had  now  been  for  several  years  their  pastor,  and  they  went 
on  to  build  a  suitable  church.  The  money  for  the  building 
was  raised  in  good  part  by  him  from  various  quarters.  Dr. 
Miller's  words  are :  "  In  this  enterprise  Mr,  Olcott  was  act- 
ive and  successful.  He  solicited  contributions  not  only  from 
the  members  of  his  own  congregation,  but  from  the  friends  of 
Presbyterianism  in  the  neighboring  parts  of  New  Jersey  and 
in  the  city  of  New  York."  For  the  lot  on  which  the  build- 
ing was  placed  the  congregation  was  indebted  (as  were  also 
so  many  other  Churches — the  Episcopal,  the  Methodist, 
the  Catholic,  and  finally  this  church  where  we  now  are)  to 
the  liberal  foresight  of  the  company  called  "  The  Jersey  As- 
sociates," who,  as  already  stated,  became  the  proprietors  of 
what  was  called  "  Paulus  Hoeck,"  and  who  immediately 
laid  out  certain  portions  of  land  for  church  purposes.  Mr. 
David  Smith,  of  this  city,  states  that  this  was  in  1804.  On 
application  to  these,  at  different  times  as  they  were  needed 
by  the  several  churches  now  occupying  the  ground,  deeds 
for  four  full  lots  each  were  granted  to  four  different  denomi- 
nations— Episcopalian,  Presbyterian,  Catholic,  and  Method- 
ist— in  a  straight  line  running  through  from  Sussex  Street 
to  York  Street.  The  first  occupied  was  that  of  the  Presby- 
terians. The  appropriation  of  this  was  peculiar.  At  first 
it  is  said  to  have  been  offered  *  by  the  Associates  to  an  or- 
ganization that  might  possibly  be  formed  by  the  Dutch 
Classis  on  the  south  side  of  Grand  Street  as  far  back  as 
1807,  provided  they  would  erect  a  suitable  building  within 
two  years ;  and  also  that  an  application  was  made  by  the 
Rev.  John  Cornelison,  of  Bergen,  and  the  Rev.  Peter  Stry- 

*  Dr.  Taylor's  History,  p.  343. 


20  History  of  the 

ker,  of  Belleville,  to  the  Classis  to  have  such  an  organization 
effected,  at  "the  desire  of  the  inhabitants  of  Jersey  City." 
A  committee  was  appointed  by  the  Classis  and  ministerial 
supplies  provided  ;  but  in  1808  the  committee  reported  that 
there  were  too  few  communicants  and  that  the  organization 
was  impracticable.  The  gift,  therefore,  was  not  made,  and 
the  ground  lay  unappropriated  until  1825,  when  the  same 
land  was  deeded  to  "The  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jer- 
sey City,"  then  worshipping  in  the  "Town  Hall,"  for  the 
purpose  of  erecting  a  church.  We  shall  see  presently  that 
this  title  was  some  time  after  relinquished  and  the  land  was 
transferred  to  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  who  now  hold  it. 
I  hold  in  my  possession  an  extract  from  the  records  of  the 
Jersey  Associates.  It  appears  that  the  order  of  application 
for  the  Presbyterians  was  as  follows :  The  first  application 
was  made  by  the  Rev.  Alexander  G.  Frazer,  of  the  Presby- 
tery of  Elizabethtown,  for  land  in  order  to  build  a  church 
and  for  a  cemetery,  in  behalf  of  "  The  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Jersey  City  and  Harsimus."  This  was  as  far  back  as  Sep- 
tember 5,  1818.  On  the  second  day  of  November,  1818, 
leave  was  granted,  and  four  lots  on  the  north  side  of  Grand 
Street  were  donated  and  accepted.  The  grant  was  made  to 
them  under  the  title  of  "  The  Presbyterian  Congregation  of 
Jersey  City  and  Harsimus,"  and  the  proviso  was  added  that 
the  building  be  erected  in  three  years  from  date.  This  land 
was  the  same  as  that  afterward  occupied  by  the  Catholic 
church  in  Jersey  City.  From  the  same  document  I  find 
that  soon  after,  or  on  the  9th  day  of  November,  1818, 
Mr.  John  P.  Durand  was  appointed  a  committee  to  select 
other  lots  than  those  chosen.  He  reported  at  the  next 
meeting,  and  the  lots  assigned  were  those  on  the  sotith  side 
of  Grand  Street — the  same  as  those  in  1807  offered  to  the 
Reformed  Dutch  and  not  appropriated  from  failure  to 
comply  with  the  conditions.  At  the  same  meeting  Mr. 
Kissam,  as  secretary,  applied  for  ground  on  which  to  build 
a   Protestant    Episcopal   church.*      The   condition   above- 

*  Statement  in  MS.  given  me  by  the  late  Hon.  D.  S.  Gregory. 


First  Presbyterian  CImrch  of  Jersey  City.  21 

named,  of  building  in  three  years,  was  not  fulfilled  by  the 
Presbyterians,  and  the  land  now  twice  offered  by  the  Asso- 
ciates was  still  unappropriated. 

But  in  1825  the  Rev.  James  S.  Olcott,  having  now  become 
the  pastor  of  the  church,  again  renewed  the  application,  and 
a  committee  was  appointed  "  with  power  to  agree  to  such  a 
grant  for  the  purpose  aforesaid  as  they  may  deem  advisa- 
ble." This  application  was  made  just  one  month  and  eight 
days  after  the  incorporation  of  the  church.  The  result  was 
that  upon  the  appointment  of  the  committee,  or  soon  after, 
the  grant  was  renewed  by  the  Associates  and  the  lots  on  the 
south  side  of  Grand  Street  were  deeded  to  "  The  First  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Jersey  City."  *  The  building  was  begun 
in  1826.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  May  i8th  of  that  year 
by  Col.  Richard  Varick,  President  of  the  Jersey  City  Asso- 
ciates.f  This  was  exactly  50  years  ago  last  May.;]:  The 
builder  was  Mr.  Jacob  D.  Van  Winkle,  of  Bergen,  with  Mr. 
Stephen  Seaman,  now  living  in  Jersey  Avenue, §  one  of  his 
carpenters.  It  is  stated  by  two  persons  still  living  in  Jersey 
City  that  worship  was  held  in  the  building  before  the  pews 
were  put  in,  the  congregation  being  accommodated  for  the 
service  with  boards  to  sit  uporf.  Mr.  David  W.  Stone,  born 
here  in  18 16  (now  of  North  Plainfield,  N.  J.),  and  whose  fa- 
ther had  a  pew  in  the  building,  informs  me  that  he  remem- 
bers well  that  general  subscriptions  were  made  for  the  build- 
ing and  taken  out,  in  part  at  least,  for  pews,  and  that  the 
pews  were  drawn  for ;  that  each  pew  was  valued  at  twenty- 
five  dollars,  and  also  that  each  one  paid  one  dollar  for  paint- 
ing his  pew.  As  the  building  had  eighty  pews  on  the  ground 
floor,  this,  if  all  were  sold,  must  have  amounted  to  two  thou- 
sand dollars.     It  is  not  probable  that  all  were  sold. 

The  building,  at  first,  had  no  end  gallery.  Indeed  this 
was  not  put  in,  I  believe,  for  eight  or  ten  years  afterward. 

*  Dr.  Taylor,  in  his  Annals,  p.  344,  says  that  this  was  in  1828.     This 
is  evidently  an  error,  as  the  building  was  begun  in  1826. 
\  Winfield's  History,  p.  387.  \  A.D.  1876. 

§  1876.  '^ 


22  History  of  the 

One  corner  of  the  building  was  upon  the  marsh ;  and  in 
heavy  rains  and  high  tides  there  was  danger  to  the  building. 
Dr.  Benjamin  Taylor,  of  Bergen,  has  a  recollection  of  one 
occasion  when  Mr.  J.  Morrison,  the  elder,  came  up  in  haste 
to  the  Reformed  Dutch  farmers,  and  procured  teams  and 
wagons  to  hasten  down  and  fill  in,  so  as  to  prevent  the 
sinking  of  one  end  of  the  house. 

To  show  the  enterprise  of  the  Presbyterian  body,  and 
also  to  suggest  the  difficulties  with  which  they  had  to  con- 
tend in  erecting  and  maintaining  this  only  house  of  worship 
in  the  place,  I  beg  you  to  note  that  at  this  period  the  City 
of  Jersey,  so  called,  had  been  incorporated  only  about  six 
years.  It  was,  and  continued  to  be  for  twelve  years  longer, 
under  the  rule  of  a  Board  of  Selectmen  and  their  President. 
And  the  inhabitants  numbered  less  than  one  thousand.* 
Two  years  later  (1829)  there  were  only  ten  hundred  and 
twenty-five.  In  this  frame  building  our  Presbyterian  pred- 
ecessors met  to  worship  God,  under  the  pastoral  care  of 
the  Rev.  James  S.  Olcott,  for  about  four  years. f 

They  and  their  pastor  were  in  connection  with  what,  at 
first,  had  been  called  the  Presbytery  of  New  York ;  after- 
ward (in  1 8 10,  that  Presbytery  having  been  divided)  the 
Presbytery  of  Jersey,  and  within  the  bounds  of  the  Synod 
of  New  York  and  New  Jersey.  But  in  1825  it  became  the 
Presbytery  of  Newark,  and  was,  in  connection  with  the 
Synod  of  New  Jersey ;  the  old  Synod  of  New  York  and  New 
Jersey  having  that  year  been  divided  into  two — the  Synod 
of  New  York  and  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey.  The  elders 
were  John  Morrison,  John  Seaman,  and  Benjamin  Decker. 
The  trustees  I  have  before  mentioned. 

The  very  circumstances  of  the  case  as  thus  exhibited,  and 
indeed  their  own  statement  to  the  Presbytery  made  after- 
ward on  the  event  of  their  passing  over  to  the  Reformed 

*  For  these  and  following  statements  as  to  incorporation — induc- 
tion of  first  Mayor,  etc. — see  Winfield's  History,  pp.  287,  288. 
t  Dr.  Miller  says  "  five  or  six  years,"  which  is  plainly  an  error. 


First  Prcsbytcriaii  Church  of  Jersey  City.  23 

Dutch  body,*  shows  that  they  were  comparatively  few,  and 
that  they  got  on  only  by  painstaking  and  self-sacrifice. 

In  the  month  of  July  the  Rev.  James  S.  Olcott  sought 
from  the  Presbytery  the  dissolution  of  the  pastoral  relation. 
The  cause  for  this,  as  stated  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  IVIiller,  was 
Mr.  Olcott's  failing  health. f  The  request  was  granted,  the 
pastoral  relation  was  dissolved,  and  Mr.  Olcott  for  the  rest 
of  his  life  preached  elsewhere.  This  step  produced  another 
change  in  Presbyterian  affairs  in  Jersey  City.  This  was  the 
transfer  of  the  congregation  and  the  property  to  the  Re- 
formed Dutch  Church.  It  forms  the  third  salient  point 
in  the  history  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  here. 

A  good  deal  of  controversy  arose  on  this  subject  at  the 
time  of  the  dedication  of  this  building  in  which  we  are  now 
assembled.  Let  me  endeavor  to  give  a  true  statement 
of  the  case,  after  a  careful  search.  I  think,  that  on  the 
review,  you  will  not  judge  anybody  to  have  been  much 
to  blame.  The  following  I  find  well  confirmed  by  the 
statements  from  both  sides,  and  by  written  documents 
in  my  possession.  Let  me  state  it,  and  close  my  remarks  for 
to-day. 

It  appears  that  after  Mr.  Olcott  left  them,  the  congrega- 
tion became  even  more  feeble  than  before,  and  the  Session 
had  difficulty  in  getting  forward.  I  find,  however,  from 
their  memorial  that  they  nevertheless  tried  faithfully  to 
procure  a  pastor.  Just  before  this  time  (in  1828)  the  pastor 
of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  in  Bergen,  the  Rev.  John 
Cornelison,  had  died,  and  his  successor,  the  Rev.  Benjamin 
C.  Taylor,  had  been  installed.  A  prominent  candidate  in 
the  minds  of  some,  for  that  pulpit,  had  been  the  Rev.  Ste- 
phen H.  Meeker,  settled  at  Bushwick,  on  Long  Island.  A 
number  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  people,  who  lived  in  Ahas- 
imus  and  Jersey  City,  were  warm  friends  of  his.     These 

*  See  extract  from  the  minutes  of  the  Presbytery,  in  a  statement 
of  the  elders,  on  a  following  page, 
t  Dr.  Miller's  MS.,  before  referred  to. 


24  History  of  the 

persons,  now  seeing  the  pulpit  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  Jersey  City  vacant,  proposed  that  Mr.  Meeker  should  be 
called;  and  they  offered  in  that  event  to  fall  in  with  the 
enterprise.  There  was  no  proposal,  however,  on  their  part 
that  its  ecclesiastical  relations  should  be  changed.  Moved 
by  this  impulse,  the  elders  invited  Mr.  Meeker  to  preach  in 
the  Presbyterian.  Church.  This  fully  accords  with  Dr.  Mil- 
ler's statement,  who  says  that  "  Mr.  Meeker  preached  for 
them  several  times  with  great  acceptance."  The  congrega- 
tion thereupon  called  him  to  the  pastorate.  Mr.  Meeker 
delayed  for  some  time  to  reply ;  and  finally,  being  pressed 
for  an  answer,  he  informed  them  that  he  could  not  accept, 
as  he  did  not  wish  to  leave  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church. 
According  to  the  elders'  own  statement,  the  question  was 
then  distinctly  put  to  him:  "Whether  he  would  accept  a 
call  to  Jersey  City  if  a  Reformed  Dutch  Church  was  organ- 
ized?" To  this  he  responded  in  the  affirmative.  The  Rev. 
B.  C.  Taylor  was  now  approached,  by  Elder  Morrison  and 
others,  to  ascertain  if  the  church  at  Bergen  would  yield 
some  of  its  own  members  to  the  enterprise,  provided  the 
Presbyterian  congregation  went  over  to  the  Reformed 
Dutch  body.  Dr.  Taylor  tells  me  that  he  replied  he  would 
do  nothing  unless  a  regular  application  should  be  made  to 
the  Classis  for  organization,  giving  the  number  and  names 
of  the  families  who  should  apply.  This  brought  the  matter 
to  a  crisis.  A  public  meeting  of  the  Presbyterian  congre- 
gation was  called  for  the  3d  day  of  January',  1830,  to  con- 
sider the  question  of  a  change  of  their  ecclesiastical  rela- 
tions. The  meeting  was  held  on  Sabbath,  after  divine 
service.  I  think  Dr.  Taylor  preached.  It  is  in  a  manu- 
script of  the  church  that  Elder  John  Seaman  presided,  and 
Mr.  Andrew  Anderson  acted  as  secretary.  A  statement  of 
the  efforts  to  obtain  Mr.  Meeker  as  pastor  was  then  made, 
with  the  result  that  the  trustees  had  solicited  from  him  a 
distinct  answer  to  the  question,  "  If  we  become  a  Reformed 
Dutch  Church,  will  you  accept  the  pastorate?"  and  that  he 
had  replied  in  the  affirmative.     And  the  Session  and  trus- 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  25 

tees  then  and  there  asked  the  congregation  to  decide 
whether  they  would  make  the  change.  A  statement  was 
then  made  (I  think  by  Dr.  Taylor,  for  he  tells  me  that  he 
did  make  such  a  statement  at  some  time)  of  the  difference 
between  the  Presbyterian  and  the  Reformed  Dutch  churches. 
These  having  been  found  to  relate  to  minor  matters  affect- 
ing the  time  for  which  ruling  elders  are  elected,  the  congrega- 
tion then  passed  two  resolutions,  as  follows:  "  i.  Resolved, 
That  it  is  expedient  to  effect  a  change  of  our  church  rela- 
tions from  the  Presbytery  of  Newark  to  the  Classis  of  Ber- 
gen of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church."  This  was  passed  ; 
ayes  68,  noes  2.  Dr.  Taylor  tells  me  he  heard  one  No,  very 
decided,  and  he  named  the  man.  There  might,  he  says, 
have  been  others ;  but  he  did  not  hear  them.  The  official 
report  gives  two  in  the  negative.  "  2.  Resolved,  That  the 
Session  and  trustees  of  this  church  be  and  they  hereby  are 
empowered  to  carry  this  resolution  into  effect."  One  of 
the  elders  was  about  removing  from  Jersey  City.  The  Ses- 
sion dismissed  all  the  members,  without  exception,  to  the 
new  Reformed  Dutch  Church  to  be  organized,  and  then 
dismissed  each  other.  The  trustees  of  the  church  soon 
after  executed  a  sort  of  quit-claim  for  the  property  to  the 
trustees  of  the  new  Dutch  Church ;  and  a  subsequent  act 
of  the  Jersey  Associates,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  late  Mr. 
Peter  Bentley,  transferred  not  long  afterward  the  property 
to  them.  The  Classis  of  Bergen  met,  and  the  application 
for  organization  was  made.  "  A  petition  signed  by  forty- 
eight  heads  of  families,  and  thirty-eight  communicants,  was 
presented  to  the  Classis  on  the  i6th  day  of  February  in  that 
year  (1830),  and  was  acted  upon  favorably.  A  Consistory 
was  duly  elected  and  ordained,  and  thus  the  church  was 
duly  constituted."*  The  organization  was  thus  effected,  the 
property  passed  into  their  hands,  and  they  became  and  still 
continue  to  be  the  First  Reformed  Dutch  Church  of  Jersey 
City.f     From  the  records  of  the  Presbytery  of  Newark,  un- 


*  Dr.  Taylor's  Annal.s,  p.  344.        t  In  1876.    Disbanded  April,  li 


26  History  of  the 

der  date  of  October,  1830,  we  learn  that  "  a  communication 
from  the  elders  of  the  church  of  Jersey  City  was  received 
and  read,  and  it  was  ordered  that  it  be  put  on  the  files  of 
the  Presbytery."  This  communication  was  dated  February 
16,  1830,  the  same  day  on  which  the  petition  (as  above 
stated)  was  presented  to  the  Classis.  A  copy  of  that  com- 
munication, attested  by  the  Stated  Clerk  of  the  Presbytery, 
I  hold  in  my  hands.  It  sets  forth  what  I  have  stated,  viz. : 
the  change  and  the  reasons  for  it  from  the  beginning.  It  de- 
clares that  the  congregation  was  convinced  that  the  step  was 
the  best  to  be  taken  under  the  circumstances.  It  then  pro- 
ceeds to  say  that  it  was  from  no  intended  disrespect  what- 
ever to  the  Presbytery  that  the  case  had  not  been  first 
presented  to  the  Presbytery  for  its  consideration  and  that 
the  Session  had  acted  in  accordance  with  the  resolutions 
adopted  by  the  congregation,  but  simply  because  it  had 
been  evident  to  them  that  to  have  waited  until  the  Presby- 
tery had  been  consulted  would  have  materially  impeded 
their  efforts  to  procure  the  minister  whom  they  hoped  to 
receive.  The  Presbytery  heard  this  communication,  but  I 
think  took  no  action.  The  church,  I  find,  is  regularly  re- 
corded on  their  roll,  sent  to  the  General  Assembly,  for  seven 
years  afterward  as  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City. 
But  in  April,  1838,  a  committee  of  inquiry  having  been 
appointed  by  the  Presbytery  to  ascertain  the  existing  con- 
dition of  the  congregation,  a  report  was  made  and  the  church 
was  dropped  from  the  roll  of  the  Presbyter)'.  This  tells  the 
whole  story.  And  now,  looking  at  all  the  facts  of  the  case 
in  evidence,  I  think  the  just  line  is  drawn  as  follows :  In 
the  first  place,  the  Presbyterians  had  no  one  to  blame  for 
the  change  but  themselves.  It  was  a  clearly  understood 
and  almost  unanimous  determination  of  the  people  to  pass 
over  their  organization  and  their  property  for  what  they 
considered  to  be  a  suitable  equivalent  (due  support)  to  the 
Reformed  Dutch  body.  And  in  the  next  place,  if  any  one 
or  more  of  them  objected — as  they  had  a  right  to  do  and 
did— it  was  still  only  the  objection  of  a  very  small  minority, 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  27 

and  could  not  affect  the  validity  of  the  transfer.  It  was, 
whether  advantageous  or  not,  the  act  of  the  Presbyterian 
congregation  themselves,  and  they  could  justly  find  no  fault 
with  any  one.  On  the  other  hand,  it  seems  not  unreason- 
able to  suppose  that  our  Dutch  friends  did  not  shed  many 
tears  upon  the  transfer  being  made.  This,  I  say,  tells  the 
whole  story.  And  all  thoughts  of  debate  or  dissatisfaction 
may  hereafter  be  buried  out  of  sight. 

Thus,  after  continuing  about  twenty-six  years  in  exist- 
ence from  the  first  regular  preaching  of  the  Gospel  to  them, 
and  exactly  twenty-one  years  since  its  organization  (from 
January  10,  1809,  to  January,  1830,  when  the  meeting 
to  make  the  change  was  held),  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Jersey  City  passed  out  of  existence  by  the  act 
of  the  congregation  itself,  and  for  fourteen  years  afterward 
there  existed  no  Presbyterian  church  in  Jersey  City  what- 
ever. 

Mr.  Meeker  continued  pastor  of  the  new  Reformed  Dutch 
church  for  only  a  few  months,  and  then  returned  to  his  for- 
mer charge  in  Bushwick,  L.  I.,  where  he  remained  until  his 
death,  which  took  place  only  a  short  time  ago.  The  con- 
gregation went  forward  harmoniously  in  its  new  church  re- 
lations. Presbyterians  coming  to  the  city,  of  which  there 
soon  began  to  be  many,  cast  in  their  lot  with  the  First  Re- 
formed Dutch  church,  and  thus  for  fourteen  years  they  con- 
tinued to  worship  together.  As  an  interesting  reminiscence, 
I  hold  in  my  hand  a  diagram  of  the  pews  in  the  old  church 
edifice  before  the  gallery  was  put  in,  with  the  name  of  each 
occupant  as  they  were  seated  on  the  Sabbath — Presbyte- 
rians and  Reformed  Dutch  seated  side  by  side.  This  was 
about  the  year  1836.  This  list  of  names  and  their  position 
in  the  church  would  doubtless  call  up  many  pleasant  and 
some  sad  memories  to  those  who  can  recollect  them — 
names,  they  are,  honored  in  Jersey  City ;  a  few  of  them 
still  remaining  with  their  descendants,  but  others  gone  be- 
fore to  the  assembly  above. 

This  Reformed   Dutch  church  had  in  succession  as  pas- 


28  History  of  the 

tors  *  after  Mr.  Meeker,  the  Rev.  James  R.  Talmage,  Feb- 
ruary 8,  1 83 1.  It  was  then  still  a  feeble  church.  The  con- 
nection lasted  until  January  30,  1833,  during  which  time 
twenty-three  were  added  to  the  church-roll.  Mr.  Talmage 
was  followed  November  19,  1833,  by  the  Rev.  Matthias 
Lusk,  who  continued  pastor  for  fifteen  years,  until  October 
26,  1848.  During  his  ministry  the  communion-roll  reached 
about  one  hundred,  and  the  families  attending  about 
the  same  number.  The  church  was  refitted  and  a  lecture- 
room  attached,  and  the  congregation  was  freed  from  debt. 

We  pause  here,  as  it  was  during  his  ministry  that  the  later 
effort  was  made  to  introduce  Presbyterianism  again  into  Jer- 
sey City. 

In  the  summer  of  1853  the  old  building  was  removed 
nearly  opposite  its  former  site  to  the  north  side  of  Grand 
Street,  in  order  to  make  room  for  the  present  fine  stone 
structure  of  the  First  Reformed  Church,  and  was  afterward 
known  by  the  name  of  "  Park  Hall."  It  was  destroyed  by 
fire  on  the  night  of  December  12,  1864.  The  origin  of  the 
fire  is,  I  believe,  unknown. 

This  brings  us  to  the  fourth  important  period  in  this  his- 
tory; the  time  when  a  successful  effort  was  made  to  revive 
and  perpetuate  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey 
City,  and  which  issued  in  the  organization  of  our  present 
congregation  and  the  building  of  the  edifice  where  we  are 
now  seated.  The  details  of  this  movement  are  too  many 
and  too  interesting  to  be  taken  up  now.  I  shall,  therefore, 
reserve  this  account  until  next  Sabbath  morning. 

And  now,  as  we  pass  from  this  review  of  our  early  his- 
tory, so  feeble  and  so  changeful,  let  me  remind  you— 

I.  That  as  beginnings  are  very  important  in  all  valuable 
earthly  enterprises,  so  are  they  also  in  God's  worship ;  and 
hence  the  Scripture  admonishes  us  not  to  despise  the  day  of 
small  things.     How  small  was  Abraham's  family  in  the  be- 

*  For  account  of  successive  pastors  during  the  following  fourteen 
years,  see  Dr.  Taylor's  Annals,  pp.  344,  345. 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  29 

ginning,  and  now  they  are  as  the  sand  upon  the  sea-shore, 
and  the  consequences  connected  with  them  as  a  race,  as 
immensely  great  as  they  are  enduring.  Compared  with  the 
gorgeous  temple  of  Solomon,  how  small  was  the  tabernacle 
in  the  wilderness  built  by  a  travelling  people,  and  taken 
down  and  set  up  at  every  step  and  carried  from  place  to 
place.  And  yet  God  was  there  in  the  beginning,  just  as 
truly  as  He  was  amidst  the  grand  chorus  of  trumpets  when 
they  praised  the  Lord  on  high.  How  feeble  were  many  of 
the  early  apostolic  churches,  and  with  what  feeble  steps  did 
the  church  progress  from  land  to  land  through  continental 
Europe  and  in  Great  Britain.  You  see  the  same  in  Amer- 
ica— the  log-church,  the  small  rude  cabin,  the  feeble  and 
struggling  congregation,  and  then  the  prosperous  people 
and  the  commodious  and  even  stately  building. 

2.  Let  us  remember  this,  and  let  us  remember  further 
that  the  zeal  and  self-sacrifice  expended  for  these  early  ef- 
forts and  for  this  progress  are  gifts  and  graces  to  be  emu- 
lated. God  approves  them  ;  God  blesses  them.  These  men 
work  and  give  and  pray  for  the  generations  to  come  after 
them.  Let  us  never  then  despise  the  day  of  feebleness  in 
Christ's  churches  here,  or  in  our  Western  wilds,  or  in  foreign 
lands.  God  blesses  the  spirit  which  can  give  and  labor  and 
pray  in  faith  and  hope  for  such  enterprises.  Whereas,  shame 
be  to  him  who  can  unite  and  sail  gayly  on  only  when  the 
tide  is  strong  and  the  wind  is  favorable  and  the  company 
large  and  enthusiastic.  Such  religious  zeal  partakes  largely 
of  the  flesh.  It  is  the  spirit,  which  in  true  love  for  God's 
worship  will  have  that  worship  and  will  provide  for  it  at 
great  odds  and  with  great  labor  and  under  great  difficulties, 
that  shows  itself  to  be  of  Heaven. 

3.  And  let  us  remember,  too,  that  while  such  enterprises 
change,  and  churches  change,  and  congregations  pass  away, 
yea,  even  God's  own  temple  on  Moriah  crumbles  to  dust, 
the  true  church,  the  true  temple  is  the  spiritual  one,  the 
"  living  stones  built  by  God  for  a  habitation  of  God  through 
the  Spirit."     And  this  lives  and  must  live  forever.     And 


•30  History  of  the 

when  all  the  present  and  all  past  organizations,  civil  or  ec- 
clesiastical, have  spent  their  day  and  done  their  work  and 
passed  away,  then  shall  be  the  gathering  of  all  into  the  one 
assembly  of  the  Lord — into  the  heavenly  city  where  the 
apostle  saw  no  temple  therein,  "  for  the  Lord  God  Almighty 
and  the  Lamb  are  the  temple  thereof ;  and  they  shall  see 
His  face,  and  His  name  shall  be  in  their  foreheads,  and  they 
shall  reign  forever  and  forever." 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  31 


SERMON    II.     , 

"  Unto  the  place  which  the  Lord  your  God  shall  choose  out  of  all  your  tribes  to  put 
His  name  there,  even  unto  His  habitation  shall  ye  seek,  and  thither  thou  shalt  come." 
— Deut.  xii.  5. 

"And  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  I  have  heard  thy  prayer  and  thy  supplication  that 
thou  hast  made  before  me  :  I  have  hallowed  this  house  which  thou  hast  built,  to  put 
my  name  there  forever;  and  mine  eyes  and  mine  heart  shall  be  there  perpetually. " 
—I  Kings  uc.  3. 

"  In  all  places  where  I  record  my  name  I  will  come  unto  thee,  and  I  will  bless 
thee." — Exodus  xx.  24. 

"  Make  a  joyful  noise  unto  the  Lord,  all  ye  lands.  Serve  the  Lord  with  gladness  : 
come  before  His  presence  with  singing.  Enter  into  His  gates  with  thanksgiving,  and 
into  His  courts  with  praise  :  be  thankful  unto  Him,  and  bless  His  name." — Ps.  c.  i, 
2,  4. 

"  I  say  unto  you.  That  if  two  of  you  shall  agree  on  earth  as  touching  anything  that 
they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be  done  for  them  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.  For  where 
two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my  name,  there  am  1  in  the  midst  of  them." 
— Matt,  xviii.  ig,  20. 

"  Greet  Priscilla  and  Aquila  my  helpers  in  Christ  Jesus  ;  likewise  greet  the  church 
that  is  in  their  house." — Rom.  xvi.  3,  5. 

"  Let  us  hold  fast  the  profession  of  our  faith  without  wavering  ;  {for  he  is  faithful 
that  promised);  And  let  us  consider  one  another,  to  provoke  unto  love,  and  to  good 
works  :  Not  forsaking  the  assembling  of  ourselves  together,  as  the  manner  of  some 
is  ;  but  exhorting  one  another  :  and  so  much  the  more  as  ye  see  the  day  approach- 
ing."—Heb.  X.  23-25. 

God  is  unseen.  But  He  is  nevertheless  to  be  worshipped 
by  outward  acts.  He  is  indeed  to  be  worshipped  in  spirit 
and  in  truth.  And  this  is  essential  to  all  true  worship  of 
God.  Without  this,  the  costliest  buildings,  or  the  most 
elaborate  and  impressive  ritual,  or  the  most  fervid  service, 
or  the  most  profound  prostrations,  are  as  nothing.  This  is 
all  true.  And  yet,  formed  as  man  is  with  a  body  as  well  as 
a  soul,  his  very  spiritual  exercises  necessarily  having  their 
outlet  (and  especially  during  social  worship)  in  external 
forms  and  ceremonies,  there  must  be  some  such  outward 
expression  of  his  inward,  spiritual  devotions,  or  there  can 
be  very  little  social  worship  whatever.    Now  this  fact  makes 


32  History  of  the 

it  a  necessity  that  there  should  be  some  locality  for  the 
gathering  together  of  God's  people,  "  that  with  one  heart 
and  with  one  mouth  they  may  glorify  God."  Hence  the 
appointed  yearly  feasts  of  the  Lord's  house  and  the  special 
place  for  their  observance  under  the  Old  Testament.  Hence 
God's  promise  respecting  it :  "  In  all  places  where  I  record 
my  name  I  will  come  unto  you  and  bless  you."  Hence  the 
synagogues  of  Israel  in  Christ's  time,  which,  "as  His  man- 
ner was,  He  regularly  attended  "  (Luke  iv.  16).  Hence  the 
place  by  the  "  river-side  where  prayer  was  wont  to  be 
made."  Hence  the  divine  injunction  under  the  new  dis- 
pensation, "  Forsake  not  the  assembling  of  youselves  to- 
gether, but  exhort  one  another,  and  so  much  the  more  as 
ye  see  the  day  approaching."  And  again,  "  If  the  whole 
church  be  assembled  together  in  one  place,  and  all  prophe- 
sy and  there  come  in  one  unbelieving  or  unlearned,  he  is 
reproved  by  all,  he  is  judged  by  all,  the  secrets  of  his  heart 
are  made  manifest,  and  so  he  will  fall  down  on  his  face  and 
worship  God,  declaring  that  God  is  among  you  indeed." 
Sanctified  human  nature  cries  aloud  everywhere  for  acts  of 
social  worship  and  a  place  in  which  together  to  meet  God. 
It  is  true  that  distinct  and  definite  places  set  apart  distinct- 
ively for  the  service  of  God  are  not  essential  to  the  fervor 
or  spirituality  or  acceptableness  of  either  private  or  social 
worship.  Our  fathers,  like  the  early  Christian  Church,  often 
enjoyed  the  purifying  communications  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  felt  the  sweetness  of  Gospel  truth  when  gathered  to- 
gether on  the  lonely  shore  or  in  the  private  dwelling.  In 
times  of  persecution  they  met  together  and  found  God 
amidst  rocks  hardly  accessible  to  their  pursuers,  and  expe- 
rienced the  joys  of  God's  worship,  with  no  canopy  over 
them  but  the  heavens,  as  truly  as  they  could  have  done  in  the 
fairest  of  tabernacles.  And  yet  the  Church  has  ever  found, 
wherever  opportunity  offered,  the  great  advantage  of  dis- 
tinct places  appropriated  to  the  worship  of  God,  and  asso- 
ciated in  every  pious  mind  with  the  holy  exercises  of  Chris- 
tian worship,  both  for  the  due  cultivation  of  the  Church's 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  33 

own  graces,  and  also  for  the  most  advantageous  training  of 
her  young  children  in  the  ways  of  God's  truth.  Social 
worship,  in  a  word,  is,  in  its  way,  as  truly  a  necessity  for  men's 
best  spiritual  welfare  as  is  private  worship.  And  it  is  no 
unmeaning  phrase  which  the  Psalmist  utters  when  he  cries : 
"  In  the  midst  of  the  congregation  I  will  give  thanks  to  Thy 
name  ";  or  again,  "  I  will  pay  my  vows  unto  the  Lord  now 
in  the  courts  of  the  Lord's  house,  in  the  presence  of  all  His 
people."  Nor  was  it  all  a  superstitious  feeling  which  in  the 
new-born  church  in  the  earliest  days  prompted  "  all  that  be- 
lieved to  be  together,"  "continuing  steadfastly,  day  by  day, 
with  one  accord  in  the  temple  ";  "  all  gathering  together  in 
Solomon's  porch."  For  in  these  appointed  places  the  Lord 
meets  with  His  people,  and  in  the  joy  and  grace  of  true 
social  worship,  the  earthly  houses  of  His  service  become,  as 
Bethel  to  Jacob,  the  places  where  heaven  is  opened  and 
where  we  see,  with  spiritually  anointed  eyes,  the  ladder 
which  reaches  from  earth  to  heaven,  whereon  the  angels  of 
God  ascend  and  descend  to  bring  blessings  to  the  heirs  of 

salvation. 

Oh,  it  is  joy  for  those  to  meet, 

Whom  one  communion  blends, 
Council  to  hold  in  converse  sweet. 

And  talk  as  Christian  friends. 

'Tis  joy  to  think  the  angel  train, 

Who  'mid  heaven's  temple  shine. 
To  seek  our  earthly  temples  deign, 

And  in  our  anthems  join. 

But  chief  'tis  joy  to  think  that  He 

To  whom  His  church  is  dear. 
Delights  her  gathered  flock  to  see, 

Her  joint  devotions  hear. 

Then  who  would  choose  to  walk  abroad 
While  here  such  joys  are  given ; 
"  This  is  indeed  the  house  of  God, 
And  this  the  gate  of  heaven !  "  J 

I  have  already  traced  the  origin  and  progress  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City  from  its  feeble  begin- 
3 


34  History  of  the 

nings  (soon  after  the  incorporation  of  the  Jersey  City  Asso- 
ciates, in  1804,  and  their  purchase  of  the  island  known  as 
Paulus  Hoeck),  in  their  early  assemblages  for  divine  worship 
in  the  old  Academy  about  the  year  1805,  up  to  the  time  of 
the  church's  organization  by  the  Presbytery  of  New  York 
and  the  ordination  of  the  first  two  elders  by  the  hands  of 
the  Rev.  Samuel  Miller,  D.D.  (then  pastor  of  the  Wall  St. 
Pres.  Church  in  New  York),  Jan.  10,  1809;  from  this  point 
onward  in  their  continued  worship  in  the  Jersey  Academy, 
on  alternate  Sabbaths  with  the  Episcopalians,  through  min- 
isterial supplies  from  the  Presbyteries  of  New  York  and  of 
Jersey,  up  to  the  year  1824,  when  they  received  their  first 
settled  pastor,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Olcott,  from  the  Presbytery  of 
Newark.  Then  followed  their  legal  incorporation,  in  1825  ; 
their  erection  of  their  first  house  of  worship  on  Grand  Street, 
in  1826;  the  dissolution  of  Mr.  Olcott's  pastoral  relation,  in 
1829;  and  the  final  transfer  of  the  congregation  and  the 
property,  by  general  consent,  to  the  Classis  of  Bergen,  in 
1830.  We  have  also  seen  that  for  fourteen  years  subse- 
quently the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Jersey  City  was  extinct, 
Presbyterians,  with  the  Reformed  Dutch,  worshipping  har- 
moniously together  in  their  old  home  on  the  south  side  of 
Grand  Street. 

We  have  come  now  to  the  fourth  important  period  in  our 
history ;  the  time  when  a  successful  effort  was  made  to 
revive  and  perpetuate  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Jersey 
City.  The  prominent  raovers  in  this  scheme  were  generally 
attendants  at  the  Reformed  Dutch  church.  The  Rev.  Dr. 
Miller*  states  that  the  movement  was  prompted  by  a  num- 
ber of  individuals  who  had  opposed  the  transfer  of  the  con- 
gregation to  our  Reformed  Dutch  brethren  (adding,  "  for  on 
the  vote  of  transfer  there  was  a  respectable  minority"),  to- 
gether with  other  Presbyterians  who  had  joined  them.  The 
first  part  of  this  statement  I  regard  as  an  error.  Their  own 
ofificial  statement,  already  referred  to,  gives  only  two  in  the 

*  In  his  address  at  the  dedication  of  the*  new  building  in  1845. 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  35 

minority.  Dr.  Taylor  heard  only  one  loud  No.  Besides,  it 
was  nearly  sixteen  years  afterward  when  Dr.  IVIiller's  address 
was  delivered.  As  to  the  second  part  of  the  statement  there 
is  no  doubt.  Many  other  Presbyterians  had  come  into  the 
city.  The  population  was  growing  rapidly  and  there  was 
every  prospect  of  success  for  the  new  movement.  From 
1830,  when  the  church  had  passed  to  the  Dutch  Reformed, 
the  population  had  grown  in  1845  from  1,100  to  4,258,*  or 
nearly  fourfold.  One  authority  gives  the  population  as 
5,700.t 

Prominent  among  the  promoters  of  this  movement  were 
the  late  David  Henderson  and  Dudley  S.  Gregory.  Indeed 
we  may  say  that  it  was  mainly  owing  to  the  energy  and 
liberality  of  these  gentlemen — both  now  gone — that  the  en- 
terprise was  indebted  for  its  successful  and  speedy  accom- 
plishment. Let  us  now  trace  the  steps  taken  to  realize 
their  plan.    . 

As  early  as  the  year  1843,  I  ^^^,  by  a  careful  comparison 
of  dates,  that  there  had  been  regular  Presbyterian  worship 
in  Jersey  City,  continued  for,  at  least,  five  or  six  months. 
This  had  been  instituted  by  a  number  of  Presbyterians  who 
had  come  to  the  place  from  the  north  of  Ireland  and  from 
Scotland.  The  meetings  were  held  in  the  Lyceum  on  Grand 
Street.  I  believe  that  the  chief  leaders  in  that  movement 
did  not  usually  attend  at  the  Reformed  Dutch  church  in 
Grand  Street.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  known  that  some  of 
those  who  were  afterward  prominent  in  the  undertaking  to 
establish  our  church  were  among  those  worshippers  in  the 
Lyceum.  Mr.  Henderson  was.  So  was  Mr.  Gregory.  So 
was  Mr.  Isaac  Paterson,  who  presided  at  the  first  meeting  to 
prepare  the  way  for  this  church  of  ours.  So  were  a  num- 
ber of  others  who  identified  themselves  afterward  with  our 
church  as  soon  as  it  was  organized.  Some  of  these  yet  live 
among   us.      One   lady  tells  me  that  she  attended  these 

•  Winfield's  History. 

t  Article  by  Hon.  t).  S.  Gregory  published  at  the  time. 


36  History  of  the 

meetings,  to  which  I  have  referred,  through  a  whole  sum- 
mer. And  this  has  been  clearly  ascertained  to  be  in  1843. 
I  was  at  first  inclined  to  believe,  from  report,  that  these 
meetings  took  place  in  the  "Temperance  Hall"  or  "  Wash- 
ington Hall,"  as  it  was  then  called,  a  building  yet  standing* 
near  the  Police  Station ;  and,  as  almost  the  only  public 
building  existing  at  that  time,  was  used  for  public  purposes 
generally.  But  I  have  been  convinced  that  the  meetings  in 
the  "  Temperance  Hall "  were  those  held  by  the  Baptists, 
although  they  were  sometimes  attended  by  Presbyterians, 
and  among  others  by  some  of  those  who  were  early  identified 
with  our  own  church.  The  place  of  the  Presbyterian  meet- 
ings, therefore,  was,  as  I  have  already  stated,  in  the  Lyceum 
on  Grand  Street,  and  the  services  were  held  on  both  Sab- 
bath mornings  and  afternoons. 

The  pulpit  was  supplied  by  several  persons.  But  the 
regular  stated  supply  was  the  Rev.  David  Sims.  Mr.  Sims 
was  a  native  of  Scotland, f  an  ordained  minister,  and  taught 
school  at  Douglass  farm  on  Long  Island.  He  came  regular- 
ly over  from  New  York,  and  was,  for  the  most  part,  enter- 
tained by  Mr.  Isaac  Paterson,  who  then  lived  in  Morris 
Street,  below  Washington  Street,  in  a  house  which  has  long 
since  been  removed  to  give  place  to  the  brick  dwelling  num- 
bered until  recently  No.  49.  I  have  diligently  searched  the 
records  of  the  General  Assembly  in  New  York  to  find  out 
Mr.  Sims'  ecclesiastical  connection,  but  without  success. 
He  probably  belonged  to  the  United  Secession  body.  Nor 
do  I  know  why  he  withdrew  from  this  enterprise  or  why 
the  meetings  came  to  an  end.  End,  they  did,  however. 
But  they  were  not  without  their  result.  For  they  afforded 
an  additional  proof  of  the  growth  of  the  Presbyterial  element 
in  Jersey  City  and  helped  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  move- 
ment which  followed  early  in  the  next  year.     It  began  to  be 

*  In  1876.    Since  removed,  about  1886. 

t  The  account  of  Mr.  Sims  is  from  a  lady  still  living  in  Jersey  City 
who  attended  the  services.  • 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  37 

evident  to  those  interested  that  the  time  had  arrived  for  a 
more  decided  effort  and  for  concerted  action.  And  this  led 
to  the  first  meeting  to  bring  about  a  regular  Presbyterian 
organization. 

The  first  meeting  for  this  purpose  was  held  in  the  month 
of  Februar}',  1844,  at  the  house  of  Dr.  William  F.  Clerk, 
and  his  brother,  Mr.  Andrew  Clerk,  in  Morris  Street,  the 
fourth  door  from  Hudson  Street,  on  the  north  side.  The 
object,  as  expressed  in  the  invitation  issued,  was  to  take 
into  consideration  "  the  propriety  of  forming  a  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  erecting  a  house  of  worship  in  this  city."  Mr. 
Isaac  Paterson,  who  still  lives  among  us,  though  now  very 
ill  and  failing,*  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  Dr.  William  F. 
Clerk  was  appointed  secretary.  A  free  interchange  of  views 
was  held,  and  it  was  at  length  "  Resolved,  That  it  is  expe- 
dient to  form  a  Presbyterian  Church  and  to  erect  a  building." 
Immediate  measures  were  then  taken  to  obtain  organiza- 
tion from  the  Presbytery  of  New  York,  and  to  secure  the 
stated  services  of  a  minister.  The  Presbytery  of  New  York 
was  chosen,  rather  than  that  of  Newark,  because  it  was 
more  convenient,  and  because  a  number  of  those  who  would 
join  the  enterprise  were  in  churches  connected  with  that 
Presbytery.f  There  was  living  at  that  time  in  New  York 
the  Rev.  John  Johnstone,  then  preaching,  for  a  short  time, 
to  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  in  Jane  Street.  Mr. 
Johnstone  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  and  had  been  settled 
as  pastor  over  the  Eglinton  Street  Church,  in  Glasgow,  in  con- 
nection with  the  United  Secession  (now  U.  P.)  Church.:]:  He 
had  been  an  early  friend  of  Mr.  David  Henderson  (I  believe 
that  Mr.  Henderson's  father  had  attended  on  his  ministry), 
and  had  come  to  this  country  in  1844,  and  was  at  this  time, 
and  when  called  to  this  church,  a  member  of  the  Second 

♦1876.    Since  deceased. 

t  Notes  in  MS.  prepared  by  Hon.  B.  F.  Randolph. 
t  Note  from  Rev.  James  Harkness,  of  Jersey  City,  formerly  of  Scot- 
land.    Since  deceased,  1878. 


38  History  of  the 

Presbytery  of  New  York.     The  attention  of  those  engaged 
in  the  new  enterprise  in  Jersey  City  was  at  once  turned  to 
him.     And  at  the  same  meeting  of  which  I  have  spoken  (in 
February,  1 8/14),  Messrs.  David  Henderson,  L.  D.  Harden- 
burgh,  and  E.  C.  Bramhall  were  appointed  a  committee  to 
secure  Mr.  Johnstone  to  preach  on  Sabbath  evenings.     The 
report  of  the  committee  was  favorable,  and  at  a  meeting, 
also  held  in  Mr.  Clerk's  house  soon  afterward,  it  was  re- 
solved to  secure  the  Lyceum  in  Grand  Street,  and  to  fit  it 
up  for  Sabbath-evening  services.     Mr.  Johnstone  preached 
for  the  new  enterprise,  and  with  so  much  acceptance,  that 
at  a  meeting  held  in  the  same  place,  Feb.  28, 1844  (Mr.  Leb- 
beus  Chapman  presiding),  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
obtain  subscriptions  for  the  regular  support  of  a  pastor,  and 
also  to  address  a  letter  to  Mr.  Johnstone,  requesting  him 
to  supply  the  pulpit  regularly,  and  offering  him  one  thou- 
sand dollars  per  annum,  and  holding  out  expectations,  in 
the  event  of  their  being  organized,  that  he  would  undoubt- 
edly be  called  to  be  their  pastor.     The  committee  was  suc- 
cessful in  their  efforts  to  raise  funds,  and  they  wrote  to  Mr. 
Johnstone,  who  accepted  the  invitation  to  preach.     A  peti- 
tion was  then  prepared,  under  date  of  February  13,*  1844, 
requesting  the  Presbytery  of  New  York  to  organize  the 
young  congregation.     The  petition  is  signed  by  forty-five 
names.      They   are :    Thomas   Stevenson,   James  Bunckle, 
James   Morrison,   Jr.,   William    E.   Smith,  Andrew  Clerk, 
Thomas  W.  James,   Erastus  Randall,  Luther  T.  Stowell, 
Charles  Scott,  William  F.  Clerk,  A.  Gunn,  Lewis  D.  Har- 
denburgh,  David  S.  Huntington,  Dudley  S.  Gregory,  Henry 
J.  Taylor,  E.  J.  Stinson,  Edward  Stevenson,  James  Gopsill, 
Samuel  Davidson,  N.  Sanderson,  B.  W.  Ryder,  Isaac  Pat- 
erson,  Samuel  Craig,  John  Jelly,  George  Duncan,  William 
Rhoads,  John  Nash,  William  Clerk,  Daniel  Baldwin,  T.  L. 
Smith,  John  Bell,  Henry  Southmayd,  John  Perrine,  Henry 
Amsden,  E.  C.  Bramhall,  Henry  M.  Alexander,  David  Hen- 
derson, David  Paterson,  J.  D.  Miller,  Alexander  Wilson, 

*  This  is,  I  think,  a  clerical  error  for  March  13. 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  39 

A.  B.  Marks,  Oliver  S.  Strong,  Lebbeus  Chapman,  Asa  Van- 
dergrift,  and  David  Easton.  Many  of  these  names  are  still 
familiar  to  us.  Only  five  of  them,  however,  owing  to  the 
changes  by  death  and  removal,  are  now  in  this  congregation. 

The  petition  was  favorably  received  by  the  Presbytery  on 
April  16, 1844,  and  they  appointed  the  Rev.  Gardiner  Spring, 
D.D.,  Rev.  William  W.  Phillips,  D.D.,  and  Elders  Sampson 
and  Couch,  to  visit  Jersey  City  and  organize  the  church. 
The  meeting  of  the  congregation  for  organization  was  held 
in  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  on  Grand  Street  (the  old 
homestead),  on  Monday,  April  22,  1844,  and  then  and  there 
the  committee  of  Presbytery  already  named  organized  the 
church.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Phillips  preached  the  sermon,  and 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Spring  delivered  an  address,  and  ordained 
three  elders — there  chosen  by  the  congregation — viz.,  Oliver 
S.  Strong,  Luther  T.  Stowell,  and  Lewis  D.  Hardenburgh. 
As  the  nucleus  of  the  new  church  there  were  received  by 
the  committee  of  Presbytery  the  following  eleven  persons, 
on  certificate  from  other  churches,  viz.:  Oliver  S.  Strong, 
Mrs.  Margaret  Strong,  Isabella  Nicholson,  Lewis  D.  Har- 
denburgh, Mrs.  Ellen  Hardenburgh,  Lebbeus  Chapman, 
Mrs.  Eliza  Chapman,  Edward  Charles  Bramhall,  Luther  T. 
Stowell,  Mrs.  Mary  Stowell,  and  B.  W.  Ryder.  Six  of 
these  were  from  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  in  Jersey 
City,  and  five  from  Presbyterian  churches  in  New  York. 
On  the  loth  of  May,  1844,  the  committee  reported  the  or- 
ganization to  the  Presbytery  of  New  York.  The  name  of 
the  new  church  was  entered  on  their  roll,  and  Mr.  O.  S. 
Strong  took  his  seat  in  Presbytery  as  the  representative  of 
the  new  church. 

On  the  next  day  after  the  organization,  a  meeting  of  the 
Session  was  held  and  a  summons  of  the  congregation  issued 
to  call  a  pastor,  if  the  way  should  be  clear.  The  congrega- 
tional meeting  was  held  on  Monday,  29th  April,  1844,  at 
the  Lyceum.*     There  was  but  one  nomination.     The  Rev. 

♦April  29,  1844.  The  same  day  of  the  year  upon  which,  forty-four 
years  afterward,  the  closing  exercises  were  held  in  the  church  building. 


40  History  of  the 

John  Johnstone  was  unanimously  elected  as  pastor,  at  an 
annual  salary  of  one  thousand  dollars.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Will- 
iam W.  Phillips  presided,  by  invitation,  at  this  meeting. 

The  call  having  been  duly  presented  by  the  Presbytery 
and  accepted  by  Mr.  Johnstone,  the  meeting  for  the  installa- 
tion of  the  pastor  was  held  in  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church 
in  Grand  Street  on  Monday,  May  20,  1844.  At  this  service 
the  Rev.  John  Goldsmith,  of  Newtown,  L.  I.,  preached  from 
Matthew  xvi.  18 — "  Upon  this  rock,"  etc.  The  Rev.  Jona- 
than Greenleaf,  of  Wallabout,  Brooklyn,  presided.  The 
Rev.  Edward  D.  Smith,  of  Chelsea  Presbyterian  Church, 
New  York,  gave  the  charge  to  the  pastor,  and  the  Rev. 
Jared  Dewing,  of  Greenbush,  N.  Y.,  the  charge  to  the  peo- 
ple, and  closed  with  prayer.  The  Sabbath-school  was  begun 
by  a  call  on  the  people  for  teachers  on  Sabbath  evening, 
May  4th,  and  the  organization  of  the  Sabbath-school  took 
place  soon  afterward.  Mr.  Lebbeus  Chapman  was  the  first 
Superintendent.  The  meeting  for  formal  organization  as  a 
corporate  body  had  been  held  in  the  Lyceum,  March  5, 
1844,  ^nd  at  that  meeting  the  following  gentlemen  were 
elected  trustees,  viz. :  Dudley  S.  Gregory,  David  Hender- 
son, Lewis  D.  Hardenburgh,  Oliver  S.  Strong,  Henry 
Southmayd,  Erastus  Randall,  and  Henry  M.  Alexander. 
Oliver  S.  Strong  was  elected  President  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  and  Henry  M.  Alexander  was  elected  Secretary.* 
The  first  communion  service  was  held  June  30,  1844,  and  it 
was  ordered  to  be  administered  on  the  last  Sabbath  of  each 
quarter.  At  this  first  communion  eight  members  were  re- 
ceived on  certificate  and  two  on  profession  of  their  faith. 
The  names  of  these  are  as  follows :  Alice  M.  Johnstone, 
Margaret  J.  C.  Johnstone,  Nancy  Scott,  Emily  Hubbard, 
Thomas  H.  Shafer,  Isabella  Stewart,  Margaret  Caldwell, 
and  Harriet  Randall  (on  certificate),  and  Isabella  Lightbody 
and  Erastus  Randall  (on  profession).  Thus,  with  a  congre- 
gation numbering  forty-five  heads  of  families,  and  with  a 

*  Notes  in  MS.  prepared  by  Hon.  B.  F.  Randolph. 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  41 

communion-roll  of  twenty-one  members,  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Jersey  City  was  revived  after  a  silence  of  fourteen 
years  and  sent  forward  on  its  mission. 

The  way  was  now  open  for  some  movement  to  erect  a 
new  house  of  worship  and  a  home  for  the  resuscitated 
church.  Even  before  the  installation  of  the  pastor  had 
taken  place,  plans  were  already  well  matured  (in  the  spring 
of  1844)  for  this  purpose,  the  result  of  which  was  the  erec- 
tion of  the  building  in  which  we  are  now  assembled.  I  do 
not  know  that  originally  it  was  the  purpose  of  those  in  the 
lead  of  the  new  enterprise  to  complete  their  design  by  re- 
erecting  the  old  Wall  Street  church  if  it  could  be  purchased. 
Yet  this  idea  must  have  occurred  to  them ;  for  I  find  by  a 
comparison  of  dates  in  our  own  trustees'  records  and  those 
of  the  trustees  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  New 
York,  that  before  that  congregation  had  determined  to  build 
entirely  anew  and  to  relinquish  the  use  of  the  material  of 
the  building  in  Wall  Street  (which  was  after  May,  1844), 
our  trustees  had  on  April  13th  of  that  year  not  only  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  the  purchase  of  the  Wall  Street  building, 
but  had  appointed  as  a  committee,  Mr.  O.  S.  Strong,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Board,  and  Mr.  Henry  Southmayd  to  confer  with 
a  committee  of  the  trustees  of  the  First  Church  in  New 
York,  with  full  power  to  make  the  purchase  of  the  Wall 
Street  church  if  it  could  be  bought.  And  on  the  i8th  of 
April  the  same  committee  were  empowered  to  close  the 
purchase  on  whatever  terms  were  possible.  Indeed,  I  think 
that  the  idea  of  selling  their  building  at  all  was  first  sug- 
gested to  the  Wall  Street  people  by  our  trustees ;  for  the 
records  in  New  York  as  late  as  May  13,  1844,  state  that  the 
Wall  Street  congregation  were  still  in  doubt  whether  they 
would  not  build  an  improved  edifice  from  the  old  material ; 
and  it  was  not  until  June  20,  1844  (or  over  two  months  after 
the  appointment  of  our  committee),  that  they  mark  the  first 
application  from  our  Board  of  Trustees  for  the  purchase  of 
the  building,  and  refer  the  matter  to  their  building  com- 
mittee. 


42  History  of  the 

With  what  particular  person  the  idea  originated  of  under- 
taking the  novel  enterprise  of  conveying  a  stone  edifice  so 
far  and  reproducing  it  in  its  original  proportions,  I  do  not 
know ;  although,  as  I  said,  it  is  quite  certain  that  it  came 
from  this  side  of  the  river.*  The  building  originally  stood 
on  the  north  side  of  Wall  Street,  between  Broadway  and 
Nassau  Street,  and  nearly  opposite  New  Street. 

And  now,  as  the  enterprise  was  a  novel  one,  and  espe- 
cially as  this  beautiful  building,  which  has  so  long  been  an 
ornament  to  our  city,  has  a  historj',  I  may  tur;i  aside  in 
closing  this  discourse  to  speak  a  few  words  of  what  was  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  city  of  New  York. 

The  history  of  the  church  building  which  we  occupy  goes 
back  to  the  very  rise  of  Presbyterian  worship  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  and  hence  we  must  extend  our  view  to  that 
point.  The  rise  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  New  York 
dates  from  the  year  1707,  almost  one  hundred  years  before 
the  beginnings  of  Presbyterian  preaching,  as  I  have  shown 
you,  in  Jersey  City.  The  materials  for  forming  such  a 
church  in  New  York  at  that  time  were  a  number  of 
French  Protestant  Huguenots  and  of  Presbyterians  from 
Scotland  and  Ireland.  The  first  motion  toward  organic 
life  was  in  the  preaching  of  two  Presbyterian  ministers — 
the  Rev.  Francis  McKemie  and  the  Rev.  John  Hampton 
from  Virginia,  in  the  house  of  Mr.  William  Jackson,  in  the 
lower  part  of  Pearl  Street.  These  gentlemen  were  arrested 
by  the  order  of  Lord  Cornbury,t  Governor  of  New  York 
province,  for  preaching  without  a  license  in  the  province. 
Mr.  McKemie  was  confined  two  months,  and  after  trial, 
though  set  free,  was  sentenced  to  pay  as  costs  £%■*,  Js.  6d. 
This  was  in  1707.  This  persecution  did  not  kill  Presbyte- 
rianism,  however.  The  congregation  worshipped  in  private 
houses.     Ten  years  later  the  first  organization  took  place. 

*  Mr.  Andrew  Clerk's  recollection  was,  I  believe,  that  it  was  first 
proposed  by  Mr.  David  Henderson, 
t  Disosway's  "  Earliest  Churches  of  New  York,"  p.  131. 


First.  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  43 

In  1717  John  Nicholl,  Patrick  McKnight,  Gilbert  Simpson, 
and  Thomas  Smith,  with  a  few  others,  were  organized  as  a 
Presbyterian  church  and  connected  with  the  Presbytery  of 
Philadelphia.  They  called  the  Rev.  James  Anderson,  of 
that  Presbytery,  who  was  thus  the  first  settled  Presbyterian 
minister  of  New  York  City. 

About  this  time  a  small  diversion  was  made  by  some  who 
preferred  the  usages  of  the  New  England  churches.  An 
inconsiderable  number  left  the  new  organization  and  were 
served  by  Mr.  Jonathan  Edwards,  then  a  young  man  of  19, 
and  afterward  the  world-wide-known  President  Edwards  of 
Northampton  Church  and  of  Princeton  College.  This  di- 
vision, however,  soon  subsided.  Mr.  Edwards  declined  to 
remain,  and  the  party  who  had  withdrawn  returned.  The 
Wall  Street  church  was  thus  always  Presbyterian,  and  never 
Congregational,  as  has  been  asserted. 

The  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  New  York  at  first  wor- 
shipped in  the  City  Hall,  which  then  stood  where  now  the 
United  States  Treasury  building  stands,  at  the  corner  of 
Nassau  and  Wall  Streets.  And  they  continued  there  about 
three  years.*  They  were  not,  however,  all  this  time  with- 
out thinking  of  building.  In  17 18,  or  one  year  after  their 
organization,  they  had  purchased  lots  on  Wall  Street,  near 
Broadway,  the  same  site  on  which  the  building  we  now  oc- 
cupy formerly  stood.  And  in  1719  the  first  Presbyterian 
house  of  worship  in  that  city  was  built.  Funds  for  the 
purpose  were  obtained  not  only  in  this  country,  but  from 
abroad.  A  charter  was  obtained  from  "  the  Council."  But  the 
Vestry  of  Trinity  Church  interfered.  They  had  great  influ- 
ence at  court,  and  the  authorities  for  more  than  half  a  cen- 
tury refused  a  charter  of  incorporation  to  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  New  York,  and  what  was  more,  they  thus  pre- 
vented the  church  from  receiving  as  a  corporate  body  any 
legacies.  I  ought  to  add  now,  that  this  act  of  intolerance 
on  the  part  of  Trinity  was  more  than  atoned  for,  however, 

*  Disosway's  "  Earliest  Churches,"  p.  133,  et  seq. 


44  History  of  the 

when  (after  the  war  of  the  Revolution)  the  Vestry  of  that 
church  generously  opened  their  doors — St.  George's  and 
St.  Paul's  chapels — to  the  Presbyterians  of  Wall  Street  and 
of  the  Brick  Church,  whose  edifices  had  been  left  by  the 
British  untenantable,  to  hold  regular  services.  And  these 
were  used  by  the  Presbyterians  until  the  year  1784.  And 
especially  was  it  atoned  for  when  the  same  Vestry  donated, 
for  the  support  of  the  oldest  Presbyterian  minister  in  New 
York,  a  house  in  Beekman  Street,  the  interest  of  which 
(about  $500,  I  believe,)  was  enjoyed  for  years  by  the  Rev. 
Gardiner  Spring,  D.D.,  and  since  his  death  is  to-day,  I  be- 
lieve, received  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  McElroy,  the  oldest  living 
minister  now  in  New  York.*  As  the  authorities  denied  incor- 
poration the  Presbyterians  were  obliged  to  vest  their  title 
for  building  and  ground  in  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland.  And  so  the  title  stood  for  sixty  years, 
or  until  after  the  Revolution,  and  then  the  Trustees  of  the 
General  Assembly  reconveyed  the  property  to  the  Trustees 
of  the  Wall  Street  church.f  The  building  thus  erected  in 
Wall  Street  in  1719  remained  until  1748. 

And  now  we  reach  the  interesting  occasion  for  erecting 
the  second  Wall  Street  edifice.  In  1740  the  Rev.  George 
Whitefield  came  to  America.  The  Rev.  Ebenezer  Pemberton 
had  been,  from  1726,  the  pastor  of  the  Wall  Street  church, 
in  the  place  of  Rev.  Mr.  Anderson,  who  had  resigned.  And 
Mr.  Pemberton  was  the  only  minister  in  New  York  who 
would  open  his  pulpit  to  Whitefield.    To  this  congregation 

*  In  1876. 

t  "William  Smith,  in  his  '  History  of  the  Province  of  New  York," 
published  in  London,  1757,  states  that  the  grant  of  a  charter  of  in- 
corporation was  refused  by  Col.  Schuyler,  also  by  Gov.  Barbour,  and 
those  who  held  the  title  to  the  church  property  in  Wall  Street  con- 
veyed it  March  16,  "1730,  to  the  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  Church  of  Scotland ;  and  the  General  Assembly,  August  1 5, 
1732,  executed,  under  seal,  an  instrument  declaring  that  the  property 
was  held  for  the  use  of  the  Presbyterians  residing  in  or  near  New 
York."    (Notes  in  MS.  by  Hon.  B.  F.  Randolph.) 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  45 

in  Wall  Street  thus  is  due  the  honor,  under  God,  of  paving 
the  way  for  Whitefield's  influence  in  New  York.  The  effect 
of  Whitefield's  preaching,  in  the  additions  to  the  Wall  Street 
church,  was  so  great  that  the  house  became  too  strait  for 
the  families  of  worshippers.  And  this  led  to  the  construc- 
tion of  the  second  Wall  Street  building,  which  was  the 
same  one  of  1719  thoroughly  renewed  and  enlarged  in  1748. 
Mr.  William  Smith,  in  his  "  History  of  New  York,"  pub- 
lished 1757,  just  referred  to,*  describes  this  reconstructed 
building  as  "being  of  stone,  railed  off  from  the  street,  80 
feet  long  and  60  wide.  The  steeple  was  raised  on  the  south- 
west end  {i.  e.,  in  front  and  toward  Broadway),  and  was  145 
feet  high." 

The  congregation  in  1757  consisted  of. from  twelve  to 
fourteen  hundred  souls,  and  was  under  the  charge  of  the 
Rev.  David  Bostwick.  And  then  Mr.  Smith  adds  what  I 
want  you  particularly  to  note :  "  In  the  front,  toward  the 
street,  between  two  long  windows,  is  an  inscription,  gilt  and 
cut  in  black  slate,  six  feet  in  length."  I  wish  you  to  note 
this  because  there  is  a  singular  coincidence  which  I  have 
discovered,  which  links  that  fine  old  Wall  Street  building 
of  1748  with  our  own  history,  and  the  removal  of  the  later 
building  (its  successor)  to  Jersey  City.  That  tablet  was  not 
of  black  slate,  as  Mr.  Wm.  Smith  says,  but  of  black  marble, 
as  I  will  show  you  presently.  He  does  not  give  the  inscrip- 
tion.   But  the  inscription  was  this — it  was  written  in  Latin : 

Auspicante  Deo 

Hanc  ^dem 

Cultui  Divine  Sacram 

In  perpetuam 

Celebrando 

A.  D.  MDCCXIX 

Prin;o  fundatam 

Denuo  penitus  Reparatam 

Ampliorem  et  Ornatiorem 

A.  D.  MDCCXLVIII 

Constructam 

*  Randolph's  Notes  in  MS. 


46  History  of  the 

Neo-Eboracensis  Presbyteriani 

In  suum  et  suorum  usum 

Condentes 

In  hac  Votiva  Tabula 

D.  D.  D.  Q. 


That  is,- 


Concordia,  Amore, 

Necnon  Fidei,  cultus  et  morum 

Puritate 

Suffulta  clariusq'  Exornata 

Annuente  Christo 
Longum  perduret  in  ^vum. ' 

Under  the  good  hand  of  God, 

This  temple 

Sacred  to  the  perpetual  celebration 

of  Divine  Worship,  • 

First  erected 

In  the  year  of  our  Lord  17 19, 

and  afterwards  thoroughly  reconstructed 

and  built  larger  and  more  beautiful 

A.D.  1748, 

The  Presbyterians  of  New  York, 

Building  it 

For  the  use  of  themselves  and  their  children, 

In  this  votive  tablet 

Give,  Devote  and  Dedicate. 


May  it,  supported  and 

Far  more  illustriously  adorned 

By  concord,  love,  and  also  by 

Purity  of  Faith,  of  worship  and  of  discipline 

Under  Christ's  favor 

Endure  through  a  long  distant  future. 

A  beautiful  inscription  and  a  prayer  truly  answered.  Nowr 
for  the  coincidence.  This  building  stood  until  1810  (sixty- 
\.vio  years),  and  then  gave  place  to  the  present  building  with- 
in whose  reconstructed  walls  we  now  sit.  In  putting  up  the 
building  of  1810  in  Wall  Street,  however,  or  afterward,  that 
old  tablet,  praying  for  a  long  continuance  of  divine  worship 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  47 

in  the  edifice,  seems  to  have  been  mislaid  until  it  was  for- 
gotten. But  when  the  church  was  sold  to  our  trustees,  to 
be  transferred  to  Jersey  City,  suddenly  the  old  tablet  (now 
seen  to  be  of  bj^ck  marble)  is  brought  to  light.  And,  in 
searching  the  records  of  the  trustees  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  New  York,  I  find  that  at  the  very  same  meeting 
of  the  Board,  April  22,  1844,  which  records  that  the  contract 
for  the  sale  of  the  building  to  the  Trustees  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City  had  been  signed,  there 
follows  immediately  this  notice,  viz. :  "  The  Treasurer  re- 
ported that  he  had  found  in  the  old  church-yard  grounds  in 
Wall  Street,  a  Tablet  of  black  marble  executed  in  1748  with 
the  following  Latin  inscription  "  (which  is  there  given  as 
above),  "  which  tablet  he  had  caused  to  be  removed  to  the 
new  grounds,  ajid  recommends  that  the  same  be  inserted  in 
the  Tower  of  the  new  church  in  Fifth  Avenue."  It  was  in- 
serted, as  the  present  pastor,*  the  Rev.  Wm.  M.  Paxton, 
D.D.,  informs  me,  in  the  pastor's  study  in  the  church,  and 
there  it  remains  to  this  day.  Thus,  at  the  very  time  when 
the  church  building  was  about  to  be  demolished  and  then 
transported  in  a  renewed  form  for  a  new  generation,  the  old 
prayer  written  in  marble  ninety-six  years  before,  comes  to 
light  as  a  witness  that  the  prayer  was  heard  and  answered. 
And  now  I  must  state  another  singular  fact  regarding  Wall 
Street  church  and  Whitefield.  While  Whitefield  was  in  Phila- 
delphia preaching  on  one  occasion  at  night,  there  stood  a 
young  boy  holding  a  lantern  to  give  light  to  the  preacher. 
The  boy  became  absorbed  in  the  preacher's  theme,  and 
when  Whitefield,  at  length  threw  the  fervor  of  his  soul  into 
one  of  his  tremendous  appeals,  the  boy,  overcome,  dropped 
the  lantern,  which  was  dashed  to  pieces.  That  boy,  then 
converted,  was  afterward  the  celebrated  Dr.  John  Rodgers, 
a  native  of  Boston,  called  in  1765  from  the  Presbyterian 
Church  at  St.  George's,  Delaware,  to  be  the  pastor  of  the 
Wall  Street  church,  and  under  whose  abundant  labors  that 

*  A.D.  1876. 


48  History  of  the 

church  became  doubled  and  even  trebled  in  attendants,  and 
who  is  styled  the  father  of  Presbyterianism  in  New  York.  A 
grandson  of  his,  as  you  know,  and  others  of  his  descendants 
were,  until  their  removal  elsewhere,  worshippers  with  us  in 
this  church  almost  from  its  organization.  Years  after  the 
occurrence  above  narrated,  and  when  Dr.  Rodgers  was  set- 
tled, Whitefield  recalled,  it  is  said,  the  circumstance  to  his 
recollection. 

During  the  existence  of  the  building  put.  up  in  1748,  the 
numbers  of  Presbyterians  had  so  much  increased,  that  soon 
after  Dr.  Rodgers'  installation,  a  new  brick  building  was 
erected  and  a  congregation  gathered  as  a  Collegiate  church 
with  that  of  Wall  Street.  This  building  was  placed  on  the 
triangular  lot  at  the  corner  of  Nassau  and  Beekman  Streets, 
called  "  The  Vineyard."  For  funds  to  build  this  church. 
Dr.  Rodgers  solicited  subscriptions  "  literally  from  door  to 
door."  It  was  known  as  the  "  Brick  Meeting-House,"  and 
was  dedicated  January  i,  1768.  During  the  war  of  the 
Revolution  the  Wall  Street  church  became  a  barrack  for 
soldiers,  and  the  "  Brick  Meeting-House  "  a  hospital  where 
scenes,  terrible  to  relate,  are  recorded  to  have  happened.* 

Some  time  after  the  war  the  Wall  Street  congregation 
purchased  a  lot  alongside  of  the  church  and  erect-ed  a 
charity  school  under  the  care  of  the  Session  and  trustees.  It 
went  into  operation  in  1799,  and  was  supported  by  annual 
collections,  and  was  finally  placed  under  the  Public  School 
Society. 

The  Rev.  Jas.  Wilson,  made  colleague  of  Dr.  Rodgers  in 
1785,  remained  two  years,  and  in  1789  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Miller  was  ordained  and  installed ;  and  he,  with  Dr.  L.  Mc- 
Knight  and  Dr.  John  Rodgers,  the  senior  pastor,  were  Collegi- 
ate pastors  of  the  two  churches.  In  1798  a  third  Collegiate 
church  was  built  in  Rutgers  Street,  with  the  Rev.  Philip 
Milledoler,  D.D.,  as  the  first  pastor,  with  the  understanding 
that  he  should  serve  that  church  entirely.     So  things  con- 

*  See  Disosway,  p.  145,  et  seq. 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  4gi 

tinued  until  the  year  1809,  when  the  collegiate  plan  being 
found  burdensome,  the  churches  amicably  separated.  Dr. 
Samuel  Miller  was  pastor  of  the  Wall  Street  church  and  the 
Rev.  Gardiner  Spring  was  soon  settled  over  the  Brick  church, 
Dr.  Rodgers  continuing  his  connection  with  both.  And 
Dr.  McKnight  voluntarily  resigned.* 

Here  once  more  I  pause,  to  resume  this  history  on  the 
next  Sabbath. 

Beloved  Brethren  :  As  we  review  this  picture  and  repeat 
the  many  honored  names  of  the  past,  what  a  deep  impres- 
sion we  get  of  the  changeableness  of  all  that  is  here.  We 
see  in  this  present  day,  as  in  all  the  previous  history  of  God's 
people,  that  the  "  fathers  pass  away  and  the  prophets  do  not 
live  forever."  And  yet,  how  true  it  is,  that  the  faith  of 
God's  real  people  is  always  the  same,  and  its  fruits  as  mani- 
fest at  one  time  as  at  another.  And  how  God's  people  are 
linked  together  by  their  distinctive  principles,  by  their  char- 
acter and  by  their  deeds  of  piety,  from  generation  to  gen- 
eration. 

"  Let  saints  below  in  concert  sing 

With  those  to  glory  gone  ; 
For  all  the  servants  of  our  King 

In  earth  and  heaven  are  one. 

"  One  family — we  dwell  in  Him — 
One  church,  above,  beneath. 
Though  now  divided  by  the  stream. 
The  narrow  stream  of  death. 

"  One  army  of  the  living  God, 
To  His  command  we  bow. 
Part  of  the  host  have  crossed  the  flood 
And  part  are  crossing  now." 

Yes ;  passing  on  to  the  Kingdom  prepared.  Here,  for  a 
time  only  to  do  our  work  in  our  own  day  and  to  do  it  in 

*  Disosway,  p.  149,  says,  "  Dr.  McKnight  voluntarily  continued  his 
connection  with  both  churches."  This  is  doubtless  a  typographical 
error  by  repetition  of  the  previous  lines  about  Dr.  Rodgers. 

4 


50  History  of  the 

faith  and  love  and  hope.  Let  us  gather  zeal  and  courage " 
from  those  whose  labors  we  have  been  contemplating,  to  do 
our  part  faithfully ;  and  here,  in  this  city,  where  we  inherit 
the  labors  of  those  gone  before  us,  let  us  show  by  our  deeds 
that  we  are  indeed  followers  of  those  who  through  faith  and 
patience  inherit  the  promises. 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  51 


SERMON    III. 

"  And  I  saw  no  temple  therein  :  for  the  Lord  God  Almighty  and  the  Lamb  are  the 
temple  of  it.  And  the  city  had  no  need  of  the  sun,  neither  of  the  moon,  to  shine  in 
it :  for  the  glory  of  God  did  lighten  it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the  light  thereof."— Rev. 
zxi.  22,  23. 

This  is  one  of  the  texts  which  not  only  convey  a  truth, 
but  teach  another  truth  by  contrast.  The  description  is 
that  of  the  heavenly  city,  the  symbol  of  the  heavenly  rule 
over  the  kingdom  of  God  on  the  renewed  earth.  And  the 
meaning  is  that  our  condition  will  be  so  changed  that  the 
glorified  saints  will  not  need,  as  now,  those  appliances  for 
social  worship  and  for  near  approach  to  the  King  of  glory, 
but  will  have  direct  and  immediate  vision  of  and  access  to 
Him.  The  truth  by  contrast  is  that  in  our  present  state  of 
preparatory  training,  and  of  "  absence  from  the  Lord,"  we 
do  need  these  helps.  And  hence  all  through  the  experience 
of  the  Church  we  have  these  temples  for  God's  worship,  and 
they  have  a  history — a  history  often  of  the  deepest  interest — 
a  history  of  man's  labor  and  self-denial  and  liberality,  and 
also  of  God's  gracious  favors — a  history  which  will  be  bright 
with  holy  gladness  forever  as  it  is  remembered  that  "  this' 
and  that  man  was  born  there."  The  memory  of  them  will 
not  die  out  then  in  the  future,  but  will  live,  and  God  will 
be  praised  for  these  aids  to  us  while  passing  on  to  glory. 

Let  us,  then,  turn  again  to  review  further  God's  mercy 
toward  this  church  where  He  has  gathered  us. 

On  the  last  Sabbath  I  gave  you  an  account  of  the  suc- 
cessful attempt  to  revive  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Jersey  City  in  the  year  1844,  with  the  antecedents  of  that 
effort.  This  seemed  to  render  needful  a  summary,  in  part, 
of  the  history  of  the  First   Presbyterian  Church   in  New 


5  5  History  of  the 

York,  including  the  early  beginnings  of  that  congregation 
in  1707  ;  their  organization  in  1717  ;  the  building  of  the  first 
edifice  in  Wall  Street  in  1719 — its  enlargement  in  1748 ;  the 
subsequent  collegiate  history  with  the  Brick  church  and 
then  with  the  Rutgers  Street  church,  under  the  pastoral 
care  of  Drs.  Rodgers,  McKnight,  Miller,  and  Milledoler,  up 
to  1 8 10,  when  the  collegiate  relation  ceased.  Throughout 
all  this  time  the  Wall  Street  church  building  of  1748,  already 
described,  remained.  The  time  was  now  arrived  when  the 
congregation  in  Wall  Street  determined  to  rebuild  again, 
and  this  time  on  a  still  larger  and  handsomer  scale.  This 
brings  us  to  the  erection  in  New  York  in  18 10  of  the  pres- 
ent building  in  which  we  now  are.  This  edifice  was  in  the 
course  of  re-erection  from  December  9,  1809,  to  August  11, 
181 1.  The  congregation  meantime  worshipped  in  the  old 
French  Hugueifot  church  in  Pine  Street.  In  May,  181 1, 
when  the  Presbyterian  church  was  nearly  finished,  Dr.  Rod- 
gers died,  and  Dr.  Samuel  Miller  was  left  the  sole  pastor. 
The  new  edifice  was  built  by  the  voluntary  contributions  of 
the  members  of  the  congregation,  and  is  described  as  a 
""  costly,  noble,  and  large  brown-stone  edifice."  It  cost 
forty-seven  thousand  dollars.  To  give  some  idea  of  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  building  as  it  then  stood  in  Wall  Street,  I 
am  indebted  to  our  elder,  Hon.  B.  F.  Randolph,  who  has 
gathered  the  following  particulars  from  an  article  published 
March  20,  1830,  in  the  New  York  Mirror,  which  gives  a 
brief  account  of  six  of  the  early  churches  of  New  York  City, 
accompanied  by  small  engravings  of  the  same.*  One  of 
these  represents  the  Wall  Street  Presbyterian  church  "  with 
the  iron  fence  in  front.  The  front  of  the  church  was  then 
as  it  is  now.  The  steeple  was  different.  There  was  a  base 
for  the  steeple,  extending  from  the  second-story  window  in 
front  as  now,  above  the  ridge  of  the  roof.  Above  this  were 
two  cupola-shaped  structures,  one  over  the  other,  of  which  the 
upper  one  was  the  smaller,  each  having  six,  or  perhaps  eight, 

*  New  York  Mirror,  vol.  7,  p.  89. 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  53 

windows,  with  a  column  between  each  two  of  the  windows. 
Over  the  upper  cupola  was  a  small  dome,  with  a  rod  extend- 
ing upward  from  the  centre,  on  which  were  first  a  ball,  then 
an  ornament  resembling  a  star  with  rays,  and  over  that  a 
vane.  The  fence  and  yard  were  level  with  the  street,  and 
the  entrance  to  the  church  seems  to  have  been  level  with 
the  street  also."  The  Mirror  article  states  that  "  the  edi- 
fice of  1810  is  95  feet  in  length  and  68  feet  in  width.  It  is 
built  of  brown  freestone,  with  pillars  of  the  same  in  demi- 
relief,  with  Corinthian  capitals."  .  .  .  .  "  The  yard  is  small 
but  neat,  and  is  inclosed  with  an  iron  railing.  The  congre- 
gation is  under  the  pastoral  charge  of  Rev.  Mr.  Phillips." 

Dr.  Miller  continued  to  be  the  pastor  for  three  years  after- 
ward, when,  in  181 3,  he  was  called  to  the  chair  of  Ecclesias- 
tical History  in  the  Theological  Seminary  newly  established 
at  Princeton,  New  Jersey.  He  was  succeeded  first  by  the 
Rev.  Philip  Melancthon  Whelpley,  D.D.,  in  1815,  who  died 
very  young  in  1824,  and  then  by  the  Rev.  Wm.  W.  Phillips, 
who  was  called  from  the  Pearl  Street  church,  New  York, 
and  installed  January,  1S26.  Dr.  Phillips  was  still  the  pastor 
when  the  building  was  removed  in  1844  to  Jersey  City. 

This  fine  edifice  of  18 10  remained  an  ornament  to  the  city 
of  New  York  until  1S34.  On  September  13th,  in  that  year, 
from  some  unknown  cause,  it  took  fire  and  was  partially 
consumed.  You  see  from  this  that  the  building,  as  we  re- 
ceived it,  was  the  church  of  18 10  repaired.  The  following 
particulars  of  that  fire,  gathered  by  B.  F.  Randolph,  Esq., 
are  of  interest.  The  Join-nal  of  Commerce,  in  an  article 
copied  into  the  New  York  Observer,  September  20,  1834, 
stated  that  "  On  Saturday,  September  13th,  at  about  half- 
past  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  elegant  church  in 
Wall  Street,  known  as  the  First  Presbytej-ian  Church,  was 
discovered  to  be  on  fire  between  the  ceiling  and  the  roof,  as 
indicated  by  smoke  issuing  through  fissures  of  the  latter." 
When  the  writer  reached  the  upper  window  of  the  residence 
of  a  friend,  which  overlooked  and  nearly  adjoined  the  church, 
he  says  :  "A  sheet  of  flame  was  streaming  through  the  roof 


54  History  of  the 

a  little  to  the  east  of  the  ridge  and  about  two-thirds  of  the 
distance  from  the  steeple  to  the  rear  of  the  building.  For 
a  considerable  extent  in  every  direction  from  this  flame 
smoke  was  pressing  upward  through  the  shingles,  and  ere 
long  the  whole  body  of  the  roof  was  a  mass  of  living  fire, 
sending  forth  volumes  of  flame.  Several  thousands  had 
congregated  and  were  gazing  with  intense  interest.  The 
fire  ascended  the  steeple  both  within  and  without  ;  the  bell 
in  the  meantime  being  rung  until  the  rope  burnt  off  and 
portions  of  the  roof  fell  through  the  ceiling  into  the  body 
of  the  church.  The  steeple  burned  with  more  fury  than  the 
roof.  The  bell  tumbled  through  the  floors."  The  top  of 
the  cupola  was  but  partially  burned  when  the  timbers  that 
supported  it  gave  way,  and  it  came  down  with  a  heavy 
crash  into  the  body  of  the  church.  The  woodwork  was  de- 
stroyed. "  The  walls  stood  firm,  and  the  stonework  of  the 
tower  extended  to  the  height  of  perhaps  60  feet.  The 
insurance  is  $20,000.  Most  of  the  furniture  was  saved, 
such  as  chandeliers,  cushions,  and  books,"  including  the 
Bible  and  Psalm  Book,  valued  as  having  been  used  in  the 
time  of  Dr.  Rodgers.  "  The  origin  of  the  fire  is  unknown, 
no  fire  having  been  carried  into  the  building,  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  sexton,  for  two  months." 

Hon.  Rynier  H.  Veghte,  of  Somerville,  New  Jersey,  then 
residing  in  New  York,  was,  at  the  time,  connected  with  the 
fire  department  of  the  city  of  New  York,  and  aided  in  the 
attempt  to  save  the  church.  The  longest  ladder  reached 
the  base  of  the  steeple,  and  with  hose  in  hand  Mr.  Veghte 
ascended  the  ladder  after  Mr.  George  Robinson.  As  the 
latter  was  entering  the  building  from  the  top  of  the  ladder, 
Mr.  Veghte,  from  his  lower  position,  discovered  the  extent 
of  the  destruction  already  occasioned  by  the  fire  to  the  roof, 
and  hastening  to  Mr.  Robinson,  succeeded  in  drawing  him 
back  just  in  time.  They  descended  instantly  to  the  street, 
when  the  roof  fell  in,  and  then  the  roof  came  crashing  down, 
falling  outward  toward  the  street.  The  roof,  steeple,  and 
windows  were  entirely  destroyed. 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  55 

Within  one  year  after  this  disaster  the  church  was  rebuilt 
at  a  cost,  as  I  find  from  the  books  of  the  Trustees,  far  ex- 
ceeding the  insurance  of  $20,000,  and  renovated  into  the 
beautiful  edifice  which,  nine  years  later,  we  received  at  their 
hands,  and  which  we  now  occupy. 

The  great  fire  of  1835  in  New  York,  did  not  reach  it.  It 
was  reopened  for  divine  service,  as  we  find  by  a  notice  in  the 
New  York  Observer  of  .September  5,  1835,  on  Sunday,  Sep- 
tember 6,  1835,  on  the  very  anniversary  of  the  day  when  it 
was  last  occupied  a  year  before.  When  completed  it  pre- 
sented in  Wall  Street  exactly  the  same  appearance  as  it  does 
now  in  Jersey  City,  with  the  following  exceptions :  The 
building  was  then  longer  by  one  window  ;  there  was  in  Wall 
Street  no  basement  such  as  we  now  have.  And  the  uphol- 
stering was  of  a  light  blue,  which  we  also  used  for  a  number 
of  years  and  then  substituted  eight  years  ago  the  present 
drab  color.  And  the  pulpit  in  Wall  Street  was  of  the  same 
shape  and  appearance  as  it  used  to  be  here  previous  to  the 
year  1868. 

This  brings  the  history  of  the  Wall  Street  church  up  to 
the  year  1844,  and  its  transfer  to  this  city. 

The  reason  which  led  to  the  sale  of  the  building  was,  of 
course,  the  determination  of  the  congregation  in  New  York 
to  remove  to  the  upper  part  of  the  city.  For  a  number  of 
years  the  tide  of  population,  and  especially  of  attendants  in 
the  churches,  had  been  tending  up-town.  And  the  draught 
made  upon  the  churches  began  now  to  be  more  and  more 
seriously  felt.  In  the  case  of  the  Wall  Street  church  there 
were  also  additional  reasons.  I  find  from  the  records,  that 
in  rebuilding  their  edifice  after  the  fire,  they  had  expended 
more  than  double  what  was  received  by  insurance.  This 
difference  had  been  raised  by  loans,  and  it  lay  as  a  debt 
upon  the  congregation.  Besides,  owing  to  the  diminishing 
numbers  in  attendance  the  expense  of  maintaining  the 
church  and  meeting  the  interest,  occasioned  for  several  years 
an  annual  deficit  of  over  $4,000 ;  until  the  debt  amounted 
to  what  they  call  (and  truly  so  for  those  times),  the  enor- 


;S6  History  of  the 

mous  sum  of  $42,000.  This  led  to  the  determination  to  re- 
move. It  was  hoped  that  the  sale  of  the  property  would  pay 
the  debt,  buy  the  new  ground  on  Fifth  Avenue,  and  build 
the  church.  The  result  was  a  great  disappointment  in  this 
respect.  But  that  was  the  expectation.  As  already  inti- 
mated, up  to  May,  1844  (^  full  month  after  our  Committee 
had  been  appointed  to  buy  the  church  if  possible,  and  to 
transport  it),  the  congregation  of  the  Wall  Street  church 
had  by  no  means  decided  to  relinquish  the  old  material  and 
to  build  entirely  anew.  Under  that  date  I  find  the  New 
York  Building  Committee,  Messrs.  Geo.  B.  Butler  and  A.  R. 
Thompson,  with  the  architect,  proposing  a  plan  for  building 
a  house  of  worship  in  either  Gothic  or  Grecian  style,  in  an 
enlarged  and  much  improved  form.  It  was  to  be  125x65  feet, 
with  a  tower  225  feet  in  height,  and  was  to  be  constructed 
from  the  old  material,  at  a  cost  of  $34,000.  The  Building 
Committee  presented  the  proposal,  but  made  no  recommend- 
ation. So  the  matter  stood  until  the  meeting  of  the  New 
York  Trustees,  June  20,  1844,  when  the  Building  Committee 
from  Jersey  City  presented  the  formal  offer  to  buy  and  trans- 
port the  edifice.  The  proposal,  after  its  reference  to  the 
New  York  Building  Committee,  was  finally  accepted.  The 
contract  was  signed  Wednesday,  July  10,  1844,  on  their  part 
by  J.  Kearney  Rodgers,  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 
in  New  York,  and  on  our  part  by  Oliver  S.  Strong,  President 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees  in  Jersey  City.  The  price  of  the 
building  as  it  stood  was  not  at  first  agreed  upon.  The  offer 
on  their  part  was  to  sell  at  $3,300.  On  our  part  the  Com- 
mittee was  authorized  July  3,  1844,  to  offer  $3,000,  but  if 
$3,300  was  demanded,  to  take  it  for  whatever  it  could  be 
bought  and  also  to  contract  for  the  removal  of  the  church 
when  purchased,  and  for  its  erection  in  Jersey  City.  The 
price  finally  agreed  upon  in  the  contract  was  $3,000.  By  a 
record  in  New  York  of  August  23,  1844,  the  sale  included 
the  following  items,  viz. :  "  The  building,  the  iron  railing  on 
the  east  side  of  the  building,  the  stone  wall  connected  with 
the  church  and  said  railing  and  also  the  coping  and  flag- 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  57 

ging,  the  fixtures  of  the  said  church,  including  stoves,  cush- 
ions, lamp,  chandeliers,  and  carpets ;  it  being  understood 
that  the  tablets,  bell,  iron  safe,  and  communion  service,  are 
exempted  from  the  sale  ";  and  the  cash  was  to  be  paid  on 
the  20th  of  August  of  that  year.  This  money  was  advanced 
by  Messrs.  Dudley  S.  Gregory  and  David  Henderson  on  a 
bond  given  them  by  the  Trustees  of  the  Jersey  City  church. 
It  was  also  stipulated  in  the  contract  "  that  the  purchasers 
shall  remove  the  building  and  the  rubbish  created  by  taking 
down  the  same  by  the  first  day  of  September,  1844  ";  i.  c.,  in 
about  eight  weeks  after  the  contract  was  signed. 

To  complete  the  history  of  the  case  as  to  New  York,  I 
should  add  just  here  that  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
New  York,  having  now  disposed  of  their  Wall  Street  edi- 
fice, of  course  decided  to  build  entirely  anew,  and  that  the 
sale  of  all  the  Wall  Street  property  brought  the  sum  of 
$148,000.  The  corner-stone  of  the  new  church  at  the  cor- 
ner of  Fifth  Avenue  and  Twelfth  Street  was  laid  Sept.  17, 
1845,  just  after  the  removal  and  erection  of  the  Wall  Street 
building  to  Jersey  City,  the  congregation  worshipping  mean- 
time in  the  Union  Theological  Seminary  Chapel  in  Univer- 
sity Place.  The  church  was  finished  at  a  cost  of  $55,000, 
and  was  dedicated  Jan.  11,  1846,  Dr.  Phillips  delivering  the 
dedication  sermon  from  Ps.  cxxiv.  1-3,  "  If  it  had  not  been 
the  Lord,  who  was  on  our  side,"  etc.* 

This  is  the  place  to  state,  in  reference  to  the  legal  aspects 
of  the  sale,  that  it  has  been  rumored  that  there  was  some 
legal  objection  raised  against  the  sale  of  the  Wall  Street 
property  to  persons  out  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  that 
a  decision  was  rendered  establishing  the  legality  of  the  sale. 
If  there  had  been  such  a  question  raised  and  such  a  decision 
made,  it  would  have  been  interesting  and  desirable  to  have 
it  on  record.  And  I  was  desirous  of  discovering  the  facts. 
But  after  various  inquiries  in  the  proper  places,  I  do  not 
find  any  stable  ground  for  such  a  rumor.     And  I  am  in- 

*  Disosway's  "  Earliest  Churches,"  p.  142. 


58  History  of  the 

formed  by  Judge  B.  F.  Randolph,  who  has  kindly  made  the 
search,  that  if  any  such  decision  was  rendered  it  has  not 
been  recorded.  The  only  two  facts  which  I  have  been 
enabled  to  discover  having  any  bearing  on  this  subject,  are 
in  the  records  of  the  trustees  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  New  York.  The  first  is  under  date  of  June  20, 
1844 — at  the  same  meeting  when  our  trustees  made  offer 
to  buy  the  church.  It  is  there  stated,  after  referring  our 
application  to  the  Building  Committee,  that  the  Committee 
advised,  "  That  a  petition  be  made  to  the  Chancellor  of 
New  York  in  relation  to  the  sale  of  the  church  and  grounds 
in  Wall  Street,  praying  such  an  amendment  as  the  Counsel 
of  the  Board  may  advise,  and  for  a  confirmation  of  the  sales 
already  made  at  auction."  The  other  is  under  date  of  April 
8,  1846,  where  the  form  which  had  been  adopted  for  a  deed 
of  pews  in.  the  new  church  building  on  Fifth  Avenue,  to 
such  as  had  owned  pews  in  Wall  Street,  is  recorded.  In  that 
form  of  deed  these  words  occur : 

"  Whereas,  The  corporation  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  the  City  of  New  York,  upon  their  application  to 
the  Court  of  Chancery  of  the  State  of  New  York  for  that 
purpose  first  had,  and  the  order  of  said  Court  thereupon 
granted,  did  sell  and  dispose  of  the  property  of  said  cor- 
poration, situated  on  Wall  and  Nassau  Streets  in  said  city, 
and  with  the  money  received  from  the  sale  thereof  did 
purchase  other  property  on  the  Fifth  Avenue  of  said  city 
and  erect  thereon  their  present  church  ";  "  And,  whereas," 
etc. 

This  shows  that  some  application  for  leave  to  sell  was 
made.  But  it  is  believed  to  have  been  the  application  made 
under  the  ordinary  requirements  in  such  cases,  and  not 
because  there  was  any  special  doubt  or  difficulty  in  this 
case  which  called  for  a  special  decision. 

I  return  now  to  the  re-erection  of  the  edifice  in  Jersey  City. 
The  sale  being  now  effected,  everything  was  ready  for  the 
transfer.  The  next  point  was  where  to  put  the  building. 
It  was  not  at  once  decided  to  place  it  where  it  now  stands. 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  59 

On  the  contrary,  the  first  idea  was  to  set  it  facing  on  Sus- 
sex Street.  And  for  this  purpose,  as  the  Jersey  Associates 
had  so  Hberally  provided  for  church  buildings  in  the  way 
already  mentioned,  and  as  the  Presbyterians  had  resigned 
the  ground  already  donated  to  them  to  the  Reformed 
Dutch  congregation,  application  was  made  by  Messrs.  D. 
S.  Gregory  and  Henry  Southmayd  for  a  like  favor  now. 
This  application  was  very  generously  granted,  on  condition 
that  the  trustees  of  the  church  should  make  the  formal 
application  and  give  an  acknowledgment  of  the  receipt  of 
the  lots,  so  that  no  new  donation  of  land  should  be  expected 
for  the  same  denomination.  The  grant  of  land  this  time 
was  not,  however,  of  four  lots,  as  had  been  the  case  pre- 
viously to  the  other  churches,  but  of  two  lots,  it  being 
understood  that  two  other  lots  besides  should  be  given  by 
friends  of  the  enterprise.  These  friends  were  found  in  the 
persons  of  Mr.  D.  S.  Gregory  and  Mr.  David  Henderson. 
Each  of  these  gentlemen  gave  one  lot.  Thus  four  lots  were 
obtained  facing  on  Sussex  Street.  Soon,  however,  this 
purpose  was  altered,  and  it  was  decided  to  make  the  church 
face  on  Washington  Street.  But  on  this  spot  the  Asso- 
ciates had  no  lots.  An  exchange,  therefore,  was  effected. 
Messrs.  Henderson  and  Gregory  held  four  lots  on  Wash- 
ington Street  (viz.,  Nos.  41,  43,  45,  and  47)  adjoining  the 
public  square.  They  each  gave  one  lot.  In  addition  to 
these,  Mr.  Gregory  gave  a  deed  to  the  church  for  the  other 
two  lots  (Nos.  43  and  45),  and,  by  request  of  the  Trustees 
of  the  church,  the  Associates  then  gave  in  exchange  to  Mr. 
Gregory  for  them,  two  lots  (Nos.  27  and  29)  on  Sussex  Street. 
Thus  the  four  lots  on  Washington  Street,  with  only  a  light 
ground-rent  of  $60  per  annum,  owned  by  the  estate  of  W. 
W.  Woolsey,  and  which  had  always  existed  upon  the  prop- 
erty, became,  by  three  deeds,  the  property  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church. 

But  even  now  the  location  was  not  fixed.  It  was  next 
thought  best,  if  possible,  to  place  the  church  on. Grand 
Street,  especially  as,  two  years  before,  the  citizens,  by  a 


6o  History  of  the 

vote,  had  acceded  to  a  proposal  granting  leave  to  the  au- 
thorities to  modify  the  public  square.  Hence,  on  the  28th 
of  April,  1844,  it  was  resolved  by  the  Trustees  "  that  the 
President  of  the  Board  be  authorized  to  address  a  commu- 
nication to  the  Mayor  and  Common  Council  of  Jersey  City, 
proposing  an  exchange  of  the  property  on  Washington 
corner  of  Sussex  Street,  now  owned  by  the  church,  for  the 
southwest  corner  of  the  public  square,  bounded  by  Wash- 
ington and  Grand  Streets,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  their 
church  thereon."  But  this  proposal  produced  a  loud 
clamor.  Improper  motives  were  insinuated.  And  the 
result  was  that  the  Trustees,  under  date  of  May  3,  1844, 
directed  the  President  to  withdraw  the  application,  and  the 
following  letter  was  addressed  to  the  Mayor  and  Common 
Council  of  Jersey  City  : 

"  To  THE  Mayor  and  Common  Council  of  Jersey  City  : 
"  Gentlemen : — By  direction  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  I  respectfully  beg  leave  to  with- 
draw the  proposition  made  by  them  in  the  communication 
addressed  to  you  on  the  24th  ultimo,  in  reference  to  an 
exchange  of  a  portion  of  the  public  square  for  an  equal 
portion  of  ground  belonging  to  them.  The  Trustees  hav- 
ing learned,  with  regret,  that  in  making  this  proposition 
improper  motives  have  been  imputed  to  them  in  certain 
quarters,  and  being  unwilling  that  the  object  in  which  they, 
with  others  of  their  fellow-citizens,  are  engaged  should  be 
connected  with  anything  which  might,  in  the  slightest 
degree,  lead  to  an  excited  and  perhaps  uncharitable  discus- 
sion amongst  any  portion  of  the  community,  they  take  this 
the  earliest  opportunity  to  put  the  vexed  question  at  rest. 
The  Trustees,  however,  respectfully  beg  leave  to  state,  that 
in  making  the  said  application  to  the  Common  Council  they 
neither  asked  a  favor  from,  nor  sought  to  obtain  any  advan- 
tage over,  the  people  ;  but  believing  that  the  proposed 
modification  of  the  public  square  had  long  been  considered 
by  a  majority  of  the  citizens  as  a  desirable  improvement  of 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  6i 

the  same,  they  merely  renewed  a  proposition  which  had 
been  acceded  to  by  the  city  authorities  about  two  years 
ago,  after  having  been  sanctioned  by  a  vote  of  the  people. 
"  I  am,  Gentlemen, 

"  Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 
"  Oliver  S.  Strong,  President."* 

This  ended  the  proposed  change  and  brought  the  matter 
back  to  the  former  purpose,  and  the  church  was  built  where 
it  now  stands. 

The  transfer  was  a  great  undertaking,  and  was  watched 
by  many  with  marked  interest.  It  was  done  under  the  super- 
vision of  Andrew  Clerk,  Esq.,  the  architect  whom  you  have 
all  so  well  known  as  a  resident  among  us  and  member  of 
this  congregation.f  AH  the  materials  were  brought  over 
the  ferry  in  carts  by  Mr.  Richard  Bumsted,  of  Jersey  City, 
the  builder,  who  still  lives  among  us.  An  arrangement  was 
entered  into  with  the  Ferry  Co.  to  transport  the  materials 
at  five  cents  a  load.  And  it  may  give  you  some  idea  of 
the  work  to  know  that  the  company  issued  7,456  tickets 
($372.80)  for  this  purpose.  The  process  of  removing  began 
in  July  and  ended  in  September,  1844.  The  faced  stone 
was  regularly  marked  as  it  was  taken  down,  and  after  being 
brought  over  was  deposited  in  the  lot  now  occupied  by  the 
"  Club  House,":}:  and  each  stone  as  needed  was  put  up  again 
in  its  original  position.  The  stone  containing  the  tablet 
marking  the  date  of  erection  was,  however,  a  new  piece.  It 
was  brought  from  Belleville  in  the  winter,  and  such  was  the 
state  of  the  roads  that  the  truck  lay  mired  for  a  consider- 
able time  until  assistance  could  be  obtained  to  extricate  it. 
The  inscription  was  cut  on  the  ground  here.  Mr.  Andrew 
Clerk,  the  architect,  had  been  appointed  on  July  9,  1844,  to 
superintend  the  whole  work  of  erection,  and  the  church  was 

*  No  date  in  the  printed  form,  but  doubtless  of  May  3,  1844.. 
+  Since  deceased,  1886.  t  A.D.  1876. 


62  History  of  the 

built  upon  the  basis  of  a  plan  submitted  by  him  at  the  same 
meeting.  At  the  close  of  his  labors  a  very  gratifying  reso- 
lution of  approval  was  tendered  him  for  the  care  and  success 
which  had  been  shown  in  the  work,  and  also  for  the  liberal 
terms  on  which  he  gave  his  services.  The  contractor  for 
the  mason  work  was  Mr.  Wm.  Bumsted,  of  Jersey  City,  and 
the  carpenter  work  was  assigned  to  Mr.  John  M.  Trimble, 
of  New  York.  The  contract  required  in  both  cases  that  the 
work  should  be  finished  by  April  15,  1845.  The  whole  con- 
tract for  transporting  and  re-erecting  amounted  to  $13,394. 
This  was  exclusive  of  the  basement,  which  it  was  decided  to 
add  to  the  original  building. 

The  work  of  erection  having  been  started,  Messrs.  Strong, 
Gregory,  and  Henderson  were  appointed,  Sept.  11,  1844,  a 
committee  to  make  arrangements  for  the  laying  of  the 
corner-stone.  And  on  Monday  afternoon,  the  30th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1844,  the  ceremony  took  place.  In  the  previous 
week  there  had  appeared,  in  the  public  prints,  the  following 
article : 

"'THE  NEW  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH* 

in  Jersey  City  is  in  the  process  of  erection,  and  will  be  a  sub- 
stantial stone  edifice  of  imposing  appearance.  Its  dimen- 
sions are  62  by  72  feet  inside  the  main  room  ;  the  tower  and 
vestibule  occupying  18  feet  in  front.  The  height  of  the 
steeple  from  the  ground  will  be  180  feet.  Taken  as  a  whole, 
it  will  not  be  exceeded  by  any  church  in  this  State  in  propor- 
tions and  beauty.  The  contract  for  the  work  is  in  the  hands 
of  faithful  men.  The  site  is  fronting  west  on  Washington 
Street,  which  street  is  80  feet  wide ;  south,  along  Sussex 
Street,  north,  on  one  of  the  public  squares,  and  is  surrounded 
by  shade  trees  of  considerable  size.  The  ground  was  given 
by  the  Associates  of  the  Jersey  Company  and  by  two  of  our 
citizens.  The  Trustees  are  making  preparations  to  lay  the 
corner-stone,  with  religious  ceremony,  on  Monday  after- 
noon,   the   30th   inst The   first   church  erected  by 

the  Presbyterians  in  this  place  ....  was  transferred  to  the 


First  Presbyterian  Chiireh  of  Jersey  City.  63 

Reformed  Dutch  Church,  which  congregation  now  occupies 
it,  and,  we  are  happy  to  say,  are  in  a  prosperous  condition. 
As  the  city  and  suburbs  have  more  than  quadrupled  in  in- 
habitants since  then,,  there  being  now  about  5,700  inhab- 
itants therein,  we  hope  the  new  undertaking  will  be  blest 
with  permanent  success.  It  will  be  recollected  that  the 
materials  are  those  of  the  Wall  Street  church,  New  York, 
and  when  rebuilt  in  Jersey  City  it  will  present  the  same 
appearance  as  the  old  church,  will  contain  the  same  pews, 

and  be  furnished  in  the  same  manner It  will  contain, 

in  addition,  a  commodious  and  dry  basement  for  church  and 
school  purposes,  and  the  steeple  will  be  altered  so  as  to  ad- 
mit a  clock  for  the  benefit  of  the  city." 

I  have  searched  diligently,  but  can  find  no  published  ac- 
count of  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone.  But  from  the  testi- 
mony of  living  witnesses  and  other  sources  of  information, 
I  have  ascertained  the  following  facts :  On  the  day  appoint- 
ed, Sept.  30,  1844,  the  ceremony  took  place.  A  platform 
was  erected  on  the  south  side  of  the  building  site,  where  the 
exercises  were  conducted.  The  Rev.  Samuel  Miller,  D.D., 
of  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  who,  as  pastor  of  the 
church,  had  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  building  in  New 
York  in  1810,  was  expected,  as  had  been  publicly  an- 
nounced, to  perform  the  same  service  on  this  occasion.  He 
was,  however,  detained;  and  the  Rev.  John  Johnstone,  the 
pastor  in  Jersey  City,  took  Dr.  Miller's  place,  and  laid  the 
stone.  It  was  the  stone  immediately  under  the  right-hand 
pillar  as  you  enter  the  m  1 H dig  door.  Within  the  stone  was 
deposited  a  wide-mouthed  jar,  made  for  the  purpose,  at  the 
pottery  in  Jersey  City,  and  in  which  were  deposited  news- 
papers and  periodicals  of  the  day  together  with  a  number  of 
new  silver  coins  of  the  year  obtained  from  the  U.  S.  Mint 
by  Mr.  Oliver  S.  Strong.  Several  addresses  were  made,  and 
prayer,  of  course,  was  offered,  including  that  of  dedication ; 
but  I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  by  whom  these  ser- 
vices were  performed. 

Thus  the  corner-stone  was  laid,  to  the  hearty  satisfaction 


64  History  of  the 

of  those  engaged  in  the  enterprise.  It  was  to  them  a  new 
pledge  of  the  speedy  fulfilment  of  their  wishes. 

Here  I  must  pause  for  the  present.  In  one  more  discourse 
I  hope  to  complete  this  history  with  an  account  of  the 
church's  completion,  its  growth  in  members,  its  officers,  and 
other  incidents. 

To  how  many  has  this  sacred  enclosure  been  a  place  of 
peace  and  blessedness !  The  scenes  which  then  occurred 
are  gone  by.  And  many  who  had  a  part  in  those  scenes 
are  gone  from  here.  May  God  so  bless  His  word  here 
preached  to  us  that  we  shall  meet  the  beloved  ones  of  God, 
gone  before  to  the  land  of  rest  and  glory.  Let  us  rejoice 
that  amidst  all  the  strange  and  unexpected  changes  among 
our  Lord's  churches  here  on  earth,  prosperous  or  adverse, 
nothing  is  unforeseen  by  Him.  Men's  plans  and  efforts  are 
all  under  His  control  to  establish  His  Gospel  and  to  provide 
for  the  edification  and  comfort  of  His  people  in  Gospel 
truth.  The  opposition  of  men  or  their  concurrence  all  fall 
within  His  purposes.  And  however  weak  may  be  the  in- 
cipient efforts  to  build  for  His  praise,  or  however  inter- 
mitted and  interrupted  the  progress.  He  can  exceed  His 
people's  hopes,  and  "  bring  forth  the  topstone  with  shout- 
ings of  Grace,  grace  unto  it." 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  65 


SERMON    IV. 

"  He  reared  up  the  court  round  about  the  tabernacle  and  the  altar,  and  set  up  the 
hanging  of  the  court-gate  :  so  Moses  finished  the  work.  Then  a  cloud  covered  the 
tent  of  the  congregation,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  filled  the  tabernacle." — Exodus 

xl.  33>  34- 

"  I  will  wash  mine  hands  in  innocency  :  so  will  I  compass  Thine  altar,  O  Lord.  That 
I  may  publish  with  the  voice  of  thanksgiving,  and  tell  of  all  Thy  wondrous  works. 
Lord,  I  have  loved  the  habitation  of  Thy  house,  and  the  place  where  Thine  honor 
dwelleth." — Psalm  xx^i.  6-8. 

"  How  amiable  are  Thy  tabernacles,  O  Lord  of  hosts  1  My  soul  longeth,  yea,  even 
fainteth  for  the  courts  of  the  Lord  :  my  heart  and  my  flesh  crieth  out  for  the  living  God. 
Blessed  are  they  that  dwell  in  Thy  house  :  they  will  be  still  praising  Thee.  For  a  day 
in  Thy  courts  is  better  than  a  thousand.  I  had  rather  be  a  doorkeeper  in  the  house  of 
my  God,  than  to  dwell  in  the  tents  of  wickedness." — PSALM  Ixxxiv.  i,  2,  4,  11. 

"  In  the  fourth  year  was  the  foundation  of  the  house  of  the  Lord  laid,  in  the  month 
Zif  :  And  in  the  eleventh  year,  in  the  month  Bui  (which  is  the  eighth  month)  was  the 
house  finished  throughout  all  the  parts  thereof,  and  according  to  all  the  fashion  of  it. 
So  was  he  seven  years  in  building  it." — i  Kings  vi.  37,  38. 

I  HAVE  quoted  these  passages  of  Scripture  that  you  may 
see  how  God's  faithful  people  and  God  himself  also  both 
turn  with  delight  to  the  earthly  tabernacles  built  for  His 
worship.  In  the  passage  from  Exodus  you  observe  how 
plainly  the  heart  of  man  and  the  heart  of  God  unite  in  their 
deep  interest  in  the  place.  The  work  on  man's  side,  long 
continued  in  preparing  it  step  by  step,  is  finished,  and  the 
house  built  for  God  is  ready  for  His  occupancy.  And  man 
waits  and  watches  for  God's  entrance.  He  does  not  need  to 
wait  long.  At  once  God  marks  His  approval  of  the  event 
in*a  ready  entrance  into  this  abode  prepared  for  Him  by 
human  hands.  No  sooner  is  all  ready,  than  "  the  cloud 
covers  the  tent  of  the  congregation,  and  the  glorj'  of  the 
Lord  fills  the  tabernacle."  So  true  is  it  that  although 
"heaven  is  God's  throne  and  the  earth  is  His  footstool," 
yea,  even  that  "  the  heaven  of  heavens  cannot  contain  Him," 
yet  there  have  been  spots  on  this  earth  where  God  has  loved 
S 


66  History  of  the 

to  dwell,  and  which  "  He  has  desired  for  His  habitation." 
And  note,  too,  in  the  other  texts,  how,  from  that  time  for- 
ward, both  turn  to  the  same  places,  the  house  of  God  at 
Shiloh,  and  its  successor,  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  with  the 
liveliest  interest.  On  the  one  hand,  mark  the  longing  of 
David  (the  true  representative  in  this  respect  of  all  God's 
people)  for  that  sacred  place.  "  Lord !  I  have  loved  the 
habitation  of  Thy  house  and  the  place  where  Thine  honor 
dwelleth."  See  how  he  delights  in  these  earthly  places 
where  God  makes  His  abode  (for  that  is  the  true  meaning 
of  the  word  '  tabernacles  ') :  "  How  amiable  are  Thy  taberna- 
cles, O  Lord  of  Hosts;  my  soul  longeth,  yea,  even  fainteth 
for  the  courts  of  the  Lord.  My  heart  and  my  flesh  cry  out 
for  the  living  God.  A  day  spent  in  Thy  courts  is  better 
than  a  thousand.  I  had  rather  be  a  doorkeeper  in  the  house 
of  my  God  than  to  dwell  in  the  courts  of  wickedness."  And, 
on  the  other  hand,  see  how  the  Lord  reciprocates  this  fervor 
of  zeal  in  His  people  toward  the  places  of  His  manifested 
presence,  in  His  notice  of  the  very  materials  of  its  construc- 
tion and  of  the  progress  toward  completion  of  His  earthly 
habitation.  Its  very  stones  are  precious  in  His  sight.  For 
you  see  from  the  last  text  above  given,  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
does  not  hesitate  to  take  space  in  the  Holy  Scripture  to  re- 
cord the  laying  of  the  foundations  of  the  temple  of  the  Lord, 
and  then  also  to  mark  how  it  progressed  in  building,  the 
time  which  its  building  occupied,  and  its  completion  in  all 
its  parts.  Surely,  then,  there  must  be  a  good  service  ren- 
dered in  noting  these  things  in  other  earthly  temples  of  the 
Lord. 

Let  us,  then,  turn  once  more,  and  see  how  this  work  pros- 
pered with  us. 

I  have  already  brought  the  history  up  to  the  laying  of  the 
corner-stone  in  Jersey  City.  From  that  time  the  building 
went  forward  without  interruption  until  it  was  completed  in 
the  following  May  (1845).  -^^  ^^^  erected  exactly  as  the 
building  had  stood  in  Wall  Street,  with  the  following  excep- 
tions;— I.  The  basenaent.     This  had  not  existed  at  all  in 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  67 

New  York,  and  was  added  to  the  building  by  the  Jersey  City 
congregation,  at  a  cost  of  $842.  It  must  be  noted  here,  also, 
that  the  six  pillars  in  the  lecture-room  (viz. :  those  on  the 
two  sides),  are  relics  from  the  old  Reformed  Dutch  church 
(South),  at  the  corner  of  Liberty  and  Nassau  Streets,  New 
York,  which  was  bought  and  transformed  into  the  New  York 
City  Post-ofifice.*  The  three  middle  pillars  were  new.  The 
audience-room  in  the  basement  was  originally  not  so  deep  by 
seven  feet  as  it  is  now  ;  and  there  was,  besides,  only  one  small 
room  in  the  southeast  corner,  which  served  for  the  pastor's 
study  and  also  a  trustees'  room ;  the  rest  of  the  space  in  the 
basement  being  unoccupied,  except  when,  for  some  years,  it 
had  rooms  fitted  up  in  it  for  the  se.xton.  The  fine  study  and 
church  parlor  which  we  have  now,  were  put  in  a  number  of 
years  afterward.  2.  The  length  of  the  building  was  short- 
ened by  one  window,  or  seven  feet,  for  the  purpose,  I  believe, 
of  bringing  the  building  within  the  lots  appropriated  to  it. 
The  width  was  diminished  one  and  a  half  feet.  3.  The  mason 
informs  me  that  the  steeple  was  exactly  as  it  stood  in  New 
York,  with  the  exception  of  the  changes  necessary  to  intro- 
duce the  clock,  and  that  it  remained  unfinished  all  the  winter 
of  1844-45,  but  was  completed  before  the  dedication.  4.  The 
former  copper  gas-pipes  were  excluded  and  sold,  and  the 
handsome  chandeliers  were  altered  to  hold  oil-lamps.  This 
continued  until  1852,  when  the  Jersey  City  Gas  Co.,  then 
just  established,  introduced  their  light  by  putting  in  new 
pipes,  and  again  utilizing  the  fine  old  bronze  chandeliers  on 
the  reopening  of  the  church  on  that  occasion,  Sunday  even- 
ing, December  ig,  1852.  The  opportunity  was  used  by  the 
pastor  for  preaching  a  sermon  from  our  Lord's  words  in  John 
viii.  12:  "I  am  the  light  of  the  world."  5.  The  clock  was 
added,  and  the  bell  in  the  steeple  was  new :  the  sum  of 
$500  having  been  voted  toward  it,  which  was  afterward  in- 
creased to  $622  when  hung.     The  clock  was  put  up  by  Mr. 

*  Statement  by  Hon.  D.  S.  Gregory  and  by  Mr.  Erastus  Randall,  of 
Jersey  City. 


68  History  of  the 

S.  Penfield,  at  a  cost  of  $450.  The  money  for  it  was  raised 
by  a  general  subscription  at  first,  and  afterward  supple- 
mented by  a  grant  from  the  City  Council  with  the  under- 
standing that  the  bell  should  be  rung  in  cases  of  fire. 

Two  sad  accidents  marred  the  satisfaction  with  which 
this  building  was  seen  slowly  rising.  The  first  occurred  in 
New  York  during  the  taking  down  of  the  building.  Con- 
trary to  the  order  of  Mr.  Bumsted  the  contractor,  who  was 
obliged  to  be  absent  in  the  early  hours  of  that  morning, 
owing  to  the  hurrying  of  the  work  on  this  side  of  the  river, 
the  workmen  had  carried  up  a  heavy  chain  cable  to  the  top 
of  the  wall  for  the  purpose  of  pulling  the  wall  down.  This 
chain  they  had  coiled  up,  leaving  the  end  of  the  chain  hang- 
ing over.  Two  men  stood  within  the  coil.  By  some  means 
the  end  of  the  chain  commenced  running.  Nothing  could 
stop  it,  and  the  two  men  were  swept  irresistibly  to  the 
ground.  Mr.  Thomas  McDowell,  a  young  Scotchman  of 
promise,  who  had  written  of  his  welfare  to  his  mother  only 
the  day  before,  was  dashed  on  his  head  to  the  stone  pave- 
ment. He  lingered  at  the  city  hospital,  on  Broadway  and 
Duane  Street,  unconscious,  except  for  a  short  interval,  until 
the  next  day,  when  he  died.  Mr.  Robert  Canning  was 
dashed  in  his  fall  across  the  iron  railing  and  caught  on  his 
arm,  which  was  thus  torn  from  the  shoulder  socket.  After 
much  suffering  he  still  lived,  and  united  with  the  church  at 
the  next  communion.  A  collection  was  ordered  by  the 
church  in  his  aid,  and  permanent  employment  procured  for 
him  as  flagman  on  the  New  Jersey  Railroad,  where  he  served 
for  many  years  afterward,  and  died  among  us  a  few  years 
ago.  The  second  accident  occurred  on  this  side  of  the  river, 
when  the  church  was  nearly  finished.  One  of  the  carpen- 
ters, whose  name  I  have  not  been  able  to  obtain,  was  hurled, 
while  putting  up  the  gutter,  from  the  scaffolding  to  the 
ground,  and  died  almost  immediately. 

Measures  were  taken,  while  the  building  was  in  progress, 
to  secure  appropriate  church  music.  Mr.  D.  M.  Holdridge 
was  then  chorister.     And  to  aid  in  this  object  an  offer  was 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  69 

made  by  Mr.  D.  S.  Gregory  to  put  up,  with  the  aid  of  the 
ladies,  an  organ.  Mr.  Jardine,  of  New  York,  was  the  builder. 
The  instrument  was  put  in  at  a  cost  of  $2,000,  toward  which, 
the  ladies  raised  $375.  It  was  understood  to  be  the  prop- 
erty of  Mr.  Gregory,  and  so  recorded.  But  by  his  liberality, 
at  the  request  of  the  congregation,  it  was  used  by  them 
gratuitously  until  the  debt  for  it  was  liquidated.  It  is 
proper  to  mention  here,  also,  that  to  carry  on  and  complete 
the  building  $12,000  were  advanced  by  Mr.  D.  S.  Gregory 
and  Mr.  David  Henderson."  A  mortgage  on  tjie  building 
to  that  amount,  at  first  for  five  years  and  then  for  ten,  at 
six  per  cent.,  was  issued  by  the  Trustees.  The  final  payment 
of  these  debts  in  full  in  the  year  1864,  when  a  determined 
effort  was  made  to  clear  off  all  incumbrances  (as  will  be 
afterward  more  fully  stated),  is  within  your  recollection. 
The  whole  cost  of  the  church,  including  the  basement,  was 
$21,385. 

It  was  not  without  urging  that  the  building  was  erected 
within  a  reasonable  time.  The  work  was  delayed  after  re- 
peated protestations  from  the  Trustees.  And  I  find  by  the 
record  that  it  was  not  until  the  threat  was  held  out  to  the 
carpenters  and  masons  that  the  penalty  for  non-fulfilment 
of  contract  would  be  exacted,  added  to  the  importunities 
of  the  architect  and  the  offer  of  an  additional  douceur  of  $50, 
that  the  work  was  expedited.  At  length  the  top  stone  was 
put  on,  the  inside  work  was  finished,  the  building  was  com- 
pleted, and  the  house  erected  for  God's  worship  was  ready 
for  use.  The  public  were  invited  to  the  dedication  services 
by  the  following  notice  in  the  public  prints: 

"  PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH. 

"The  Trustees  have  made  arrangements  to  have  this  edi- 
fice dedicated  to  the  worship  of  Almighty  God  on  the  next 
Sabbath.  On  which  occasion  the  venerable  Dr.  Miller,  of 
Princeton,  now  in  the  vigor  of  a  ripe  old  age,  will  officiate 
at  the  morning  service.  ....  Dr.  Miller  was  at  the  dedi- 
cation of  the  church  in  New  York  in  18 10,  .  .  .  .  and  his 


70  History  of  the 

life  has  been  spared  to  see  the  same  building  shipped  to  his 
own  State.  Dr.  Phillips,  long  the  pastor  of  the  old  church 
in  New  York,  will  preach  on  this  occasion  in  the  afternoon, 
and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Sprague,  of  Albany,  will  preach  in  the 
evening.  Altogether  it  will  probably  be  one  of  the  most 
interesting  occasions  that  Jersey  City  has  witnessed  for 
some  time." 

The  dedication  of  the  church  took  place  according  to  this 
programme  on  Sunday,  May  25,  1845.  Overflowing  houses 
attended  the  services.  As  had  been  advertised,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Miller,  who  had  been  the  pastor  thirty-four  years  before, 
when  the  building  was  first  erected,  preached  the  sermon. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Phillips,  as  was  very  appropriate,  preached  in 
the  afternoon.  As  an  incident  of  the  evening  service,  when 
Dr.  Sprague,  of  Albany,  preached,  I  may  mention  that  he 
referred  to  a  serious  loss  which  the  church  had  met  in  Feb- 
ruary, four  months  before,  in  the  death  of  one  of  three  ex- 
cellent women  (of  whom  this  church  has  had  so  many  to  be 
■  thankful  for  during  its  history),  Mrs.  Margaret  Strong,  wife 
of  Elder  Strong.  He  referred  to  her  consistent  Christian 
activity,  and  to  her  helpfulness  in  setting  forward  this  church, 
whose  dedication  she  did  not  live  to  see.  And  he  espe- 
cially mentioned  that  it  was  chiefly  by  her  zeal  that  the 
money  was  raised  by  subscription  to  furnish  the  communion 
set  (which  has  been  so  long  used  in  this  church), — a  fact 
which  we  should  have  no  means  of  knowing  but  from  this 
source. 

Dr.  Miller's  discourse  in  the  morning  excited  great  atten- 
tion. Necessarily,  he  was  obliged  to  make  reference  to  the 
former  Presbyterian  organization  and  building  which  had 
been  transferred  to  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church.  This 
caused  a  very  considerable  commotion.  Almost  immedi- 
ately the  Consistory  of  the  Dutch  church  addressed  a  letter 
to  the  Session,  asking  friendly  conference  and  stating  that 
Dr.  Miller's  statements  were  unintentionally  not  exactly  in 
accordance  with  the  facts.     A  committee  was  appointed  by 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  71 

the  Session  to  visit  Dr.  Miller  in  Princeton.  He  asked  for 
a  plain  statement  of  the  errors  and  said  he  would  correct 
any  that  could  be  pointed  out.  This  request  for  an  exhibit 
of  the  errors  was  sent,  with  a  fraternal  letter,  to  the  Consis- 
tory.    But  there  the  matter  dropped. 

I  have  already  given  you  in  full  the  facts  of  this  case  as 
exhibited  in  ofificial  documents,  and  there  is  no  need  for  any 
further  reference  to  the  matter. 

The  work  was  thus  finished  and  all  went  on  prosperously. 
Old  occupants  of  pews  in  Wall  Street,  delighted  to  see  the 
old  walls  once  more  standing,  came  to  the  opening  service, 
and  again  and  again  came  afterward  to  see  their  old  home 
in  God's  house  in  its  familiar  features,  and  to  sit  in  their 
old  pews.  The  church  itself  was  an  imposing  feature  in  the 
young  and  growing  city.  The  congregation  was  united  and 
was  increasing,  and  all  seemed  fair  in  God's  good  providence 
for  a  useful  and  honorable  career. 

The  first  communion  service  in  the  new  building  was  held 
on  Sunday  afternoon,  June  29,  1845,  j>^st  one  year  after  the 
first  communion,  held  in  the  Lyoeum,  after  the  organiza- 
tion. And  on  that  occasion  they  had  the  pleasure  of  wel- 
coming ten  new  members — eight  on  certificate  and  two  on 
confession  of  their  faith.  Their  names  are  as  follows  :  D. 
M.  Holdridge,  Frances  Holdridge,  Justus  Slater  (afterward 
elder),  Esther  Slater,  Robert  George,  Ann  Jane  George, 
Robert  Canning,  and  Margaret  Ann  Canning.  These  were 
on  certificate  ;  and  on  confession — Aaron  Bonnell  and  Phebe 
A.  Bonnell. 

Everything,  as  I  said,  seemed  now  to  be  prosperous, 
when,  alas  !  God  having  brought  the  church  to  this  happy 
condition,  a  sad  event  almost  immediately  clouded  all  hearts 
and  foreboded  almost  irreparable  damage.  I  allude  to  the 
tragic  death  of  Mr.  David  Henderson,  the  chief  abettor  of 
this  enterprise. 

There  are  those  now  living  who  can  remember  how  eager 
Mr.  Henderson  was  to  get  the  church  completed,  so  that  it 
could  be  dedicated  and  he  could  be  at  liberty  to  be  absent 


"JZ  History  of  the 

in  the  mountains  upon  business.  So  eager  was  he  for  this 
that  he  sometimes  detained  and  fed  the  workmen  at  his 
own  house  in  order  that  they  might  continue  working  at 
extra  hours  for  expediting  the  building.  And  yet,  alas  !  so 
mysterious  are  the  ways  of  God,  so  uncertain  the  calculation 
of  man.  That  visit  was  to  throw  all  into  gloom.  The  dedi- 
cation service  had  hardly  passed  when  he  went  away  into 
the  Adirondacks.  He  returned  and  stayed  for  a  short  time, 
until  August,  and  meantime  his  familiar  face  was  seen  for 
one  Sabbath  or  two  in  his  pew.  Then  almost  immediately, 
accompanied  by  his  pastor  and  his  own  family,  he  went 
again  into  the  mountains.  All  went  well  until  September 
3d.  On  Tuesday,  the  day  previous,  Mr.  Johnstone,  his 
pastor,  left  him  to  return  home,  bearing  with  him  the  last 
writing  that  Mr.  Henderson  ever  penned — a  letter  of  con- 
dolence to  his  friend,  Mr.  Gregory,  on  the  death  of  Mr. 
Gregory's  sister,  Mrs.  Catlin.  The  day  after  Mr.  Johnstone 
left,  Mr.  Henderson,  accompanied  by  his  guide,  John  Che- 
ney, went  into  the  woods  to  what  is  now  known  as  "  Calam- 
ity Pond."  He  had  always  had  a  dread  of  firearms.  And 
yet,  strange  to  say,  as  the  time  for  the  meal  approached,  he 
took  off  his  belt  with  its  loaded  pistol,  and  laid  it  down 
hastily,  with  the  hammer  resting  on  the  cap,  upon  the  rock 
at  his  feet.  The  blow  on  the  hammer  exploded  the  cap, 
the  pistol  was  discharged,  and  the  ball  passed  into  his  body. 
He  sank  immediately.  His  first  words,  as  he  looked  around 
at  the  wild  and  deep  woods,  were,  "  What  a  place  for  such 
an  accident ! "  Then  calling  his  son,  a  boy  of  twelve,  to 
him  and  bidding  him  be  obedient  to  his  mother,  he  com- 
mended his  departing  soul  to  God  and  died.  It  was  a  ter- 
rible scene,  as  you  may  well  imagine.  And  yet  whose 
imagination  can  come  up  to  the  reality,  for  that  guide,  for 
that  young,  fatherless  boy,  and  for  that  widowed  woman, 
as,  later  in  the  day,  she  sees  from  the  house  the  guide  return 
without  her  husband  and  talking  hurriedly  to  Mr.  Hender- 
son's nephew,  imagines  instantly  some  mishap  !  Beyond 
all  control,  she  hurries  to  them  to  hear  the  terrible  news.    It 


First  Presbyterian  Churcli  of  Jersey  City.  73 

was  not  long  that  the  system  could  bear  such  a  shock,  and 
in  two  years  she  followed  after.  The  news  of  Mr.  Hender- 
son's death  was  three  days  in  reaching  Jersey  City.  It 
came  by  express  on  Saturday  morning.  A  paragraph  in 
the  Jersey  City  Sentinel  of  September  6th,  then  the  only 
newspaper  in  the  city,  announced  the  sad  event,  and  filled 
the  whole  city  with  sorrow.  He  had  lived  here  more  than 
twenty  years.  He  had  been  forward  in  all  public  improve- 
ments. His  retiring  habits  and  his  kindness  of  heart  were 
well  and  widely  known.  And  all  felt  that  a  great  and  public 
loss,  not  to  be  repaired,  had  been  sustained.  I  need  not  say 
that  this  church  mourned.  There  is  on  record  in  the  Trus- 
tees' book  a  most  worthy  tribute  to  his  memory.  They 
gave  vent  also  to  their  appreciation  of  his  liberality  and  de- 
votion to  this  church  by  the  tablet  which  hangs  against 
yonder  wall,  and  to  which,  I  may  say  here,  even  some  far 
away  in  other  lands  desired  to  subscribe,  in  token  of  their 
affection.  But  nothing  could  fully  express  or  could  com- 
pensate their  loss — a  loss  which  indeed,  I  may  add  after 
having  perused  the  records  of  this  church  through  that 
whole  time  and  subsequently,  seems  to  me  one  which  truly 
was  never  wholly  repaired. 

Mr.  Johnstone  continued  sole  pastor  until  1848.  It  had 
been  adjudged  best  for  various  reasons,  and  was  so  decided 
December  13,  1847,  that  he  should  have  an  associate.  The 
first  plan  was  to  establish  a  mission  preaching-station  at 
Hoboken,  which  was  to  be  supplied  in  part  by  the  associate 
pastor:  And  a  committee,  of  which  Mr.  J.  D.  Miller  was 
chairman,  was  appointed  to  select  a  room  at  that  place. 
After  some  correspondence  with  Princeton,  the  Rev.  Lewis 
H.  Lee,  a  graduate  of  that  Seminary,  was  called.  He  was 
ordained  and  installed  as  associate  pastor  with  Mr.  John- 
stone by  the  Presbytery  of  New  York  on  Wednesday,  No- 
vember 15,  1848.  On  that  occasion  Mr.  Johnstone  pre- 
sided. The  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  James  W. 
Alexander,  D.D.,  of  New  York,  from  i  Tim.  iii.  i.  The 
Rev.  John  M.  Krebs,  D.D.,  of  New  York,  gave  the  charge 


74  History  of  the 

to  the  pastor,  and  the  Rev.  William  Snodgrass,  D.D.,  of  the 
same  city,  the  charge  to  the  people.  Before  Mr.  Lee's  in- 
stallation, however,  the  project  of  a  mission-field  at  Hoboken 
was  given  up. 

This  associate  pastorate  continued  for  about  a  year.  Dif- 
ficulties in  sustaining  the  church  arose,  and  after  several  con- 
ferences with  the  Session,  Trustees,  and  others,  Mr.  Lee,  on 
the  nth  of  December,  1849,  presented  his  resignation  to  a 
meeting  of  the  congregation,  who,  with  regret  and  a  cordial 
testimony  to  his  zeal  and  faithfulness,  agreed  to  accept  it. 
And  on  the  7th  of  January,  1850,  the  Presbytery  dissolved 
the  relation,  thus  leaving  Mr.  Johnstone  alone  again  as 
pastor.  The  difficulties  of  carrying  the  church  forward, 
however,  still  continuing,  the  Session  and  Trustees  called  a 
conference  of  the  leading  persons  in  the  church.  The  result 
was  that  Mr.  Johnstone,  who  was  now  advanced  in  life, 
thinking  it  best  on  the  whole,  agreed  to  resign  the  active 
duties  of  the  pastorate,  and  at  length  determined  to  resign 
the  pastorate  altogether,  on  condition  of  his  receiving  $600 
per  annum  during  his  natural  life.  This  the  congregation 
agreed  to  at  a  meeting  held  May  20,  1850,  at  which  the  Rev. 
John  M.  Krebs,  D.D.,  of  New  York,  presided ;  the  congre- 
gation adding  warm  expressions  of  their  attachment  to  Mr. 
Johnstone  and  of  satisfaction  in  his  zeal  and  faithfulness.  A 
bond  was  given,  and  this  sum  was  paid  to  him  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  fourteen  years  afterward. 
They  also  assigned  a  pew  for  himself  and  family,  in  the  de- 
sire that  he  would  still  continue  with  them  as  a  worshipper. 
Thus,  after  a  pastorate  of  six  years,  the  relation  was  dis- 
solved by  the  Presbytery  of  New  York,  May  27,  1850. 

At  the  same  meeting  of  the  congregation  which  agreed 
to  receive  Mr.  Johnstone's  resignation,  on  the  terms  men- 
tioned, the  Rev.  David  King,  then  just  leaving  the  Theo- 
logical Seminary  at  Princeton,  was  unanimously  chosen  as 
pastor,  at  a  salary  of  $1,200,  and  the  same  commissioners 
were  appointed  to  represent  the  congregation  in  both  mat- 
ters before  the  Presbytery ;   namely,  Messrs.  Luke  Lyman, 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  75 

T.  H.  Shafer,  A.  S.  Jewell,  O.  S.  Strong,  and  F.  B.-Betts. 
In  dissolving  the  pastoral  relations  between  Mr.  Johnstone 
and  the  church,  the  Presbytery  appointed  Mr.  David  King 
to  preach  in  the  pulpit  on  the  following  Sabbath,  June  2, 

1850.  On  Monday,  June  3d,  the  Presbytery  of  New  York 
again  met,  the  call  for  Mr.  King  was  tendered  to  him,  and 
on  Wednesday  evening,  June  12,  1850,  Mr.  David  King  was 
ordained  and  installed  as  sole  pastor.  At  this  service,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  William  W.  Phillips  presided,  and  offered  the 
ordaining  prayer;  the  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev. 
John  D.  Wells,  of  Williamsburg,  L.  I.;  the  Rev.  J.  B. 
Rockwell,  of  Brooklyn,  gave  the  charge  to  the  pastor,  and 
the  Rev.  N.  C.  Locke  the  charge  to  the  people. 

Everything  now  seemed  to  betoken  prosperity.  Mr.  King 
was  a  preacher  of  fine  address,  and  he  won  all  hearts  to  him. 
His  fine,  melodious  voice  added  to  the  attractions  of  his 
preaching.  But  alas!  in  God's  providence,  disappointment 
again  awaited  the  congregation.  Mr.  King  had  been  settled 
hardly  four  months  when  a  disease  of  the  throat  showed  it- 
self. The  congregation,  on  October  26th,  very  kindly  gave 
him  an  intermission  for  several  months,  in  hopes  that  rest 
would  restore  him.  During  this  time  of  intermission  the 
Rev.  William  W.  Eddy  preached  as  stated  supply  a  short 
time,  but  long  enough  to  endear  himself  to  the  congrega- 
tion, some  of  whom  still  remember  him.  On  leaving  this 
church,  he  entered  upon  his  noble  work  as  foreign  mission- 
ary at  Sidon,  in  Syria,  where  he  still  labors,  with  his  family 
in  the  same  service  grown  up  around  him,  approved  of  all 
for  his  zeal  and  fidelity. 

On  January  27,  1 851,  Mr.  King  announced  to  the  Session 
of  the  church  that  he  was  able  to  resume  his  duties,  and 
Mr.  Eddy's  services  terminated,  the  congregation  passing  a 
resolution  expressing  their  grateful  sense  of  the  value  of  his 
ministrations.  This  short  rest  did  not,  however,  achieve  for 
Mr.  King  what  had  been  hoped   for.     And  on  March  11, 

1851,  at  a  proposal  from  him  to  resign  his  pastorate,  the  con- 
gregation, rather  than  to  have  the  relation  dissolved,  agreed 


76  History  of  the 

to  a  further  intermission  of  six  months,  and  undertook  to 
supply  the  pulpit  in  the  meantime.  Mr.  King  then  visited 
Scotland,  his  native  land. 

During  this  second  interval  the  congregation  were  sup- 
plied statedly  by  the  Rev.  Wilson  Phraner.  He  also  is  re- 
membered here  with  much  affection.  On  leaving  the  church 
he  became  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Sing 
Sing,  New  York,  where  he  stUl  fives  useful  and  honored. 

Before  the  close  of  the  allowed  vacation  Mr.  King  re- 
turned and  resumed  his  duties.  But  it  was  soon  too  evi- 
dent that  his  malady  was  not  cured,  and  amidst  the  deep 
regrets  of  the  congregation  he  insisted  upon  withdrawing. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  congregation  held  October  8,  185 1, 
he  offered  his  resignation.  It  was  sadly  accepted,  and  the 
relation  was  dissolved  by  the  Presbytery  of  New  York,  Oc- 
tober 14,  185 1,  after  a  pastorate  of  about  sixteen  months. 

During  the  four  and  a  half  years  of  the  sole  pastorate  of 
the  Rev.  John  Johnstone,  the  population  of  the  city  was 
increasing  greatly.  And  the  church  grew  in  strength  and 
numbers.  The  congregation  was  krge,  and  the  communion- 
roll  up  to  the  time  of  the  Rev.  Lewis  H.  Lee's  accession 
as  associate  pastor,  numbered  122  names.  The  joint  pas- 
torate of  these  two  ministers  also,  which  lasted  about 
fourteen  months,  was  attended  by  a  regular  and  gratifying 
progress.  So  that  when  Mr.  Lee  first,  and  Mr.  Johnstone 
shortly  afterward,  had  closed  their  ministry  here,  there  were 
166  persons  in  communion  with  the  church,  of  which  45 
were  on  confession  of  their  faith. 

The  ministry  of  the  Rev.  David  King,  although  only 
about  20  months  in  length,  and  so  much  interrupted,  was 
very  fruitful  in  results.  The  congregation  was  not  only 
enlarged,  but  there  were  added  62  names  to  the  list  of  the 
communicants,  of  which  21  were  upon  confession  of  their 
faith,  and  the  whole  number  of  communicants  had  risen  to 
228  at  the  time  of  his  removal. 

These  three  men  are  all  now  gone  to  their  rest.  Mr. 
Johnstone  continued  to  live  for  a  few  years  later  in  Jersey 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  "]"] 

City.  In  1853  he  returned  to  reside  in  Moffatt,  Scotland, 
where  he  died  on  the  4th  of  May,  1864,  in  the  8ist  year  of 
his  age. 

The  Rev.  Lewis  H.  Lee  was  called,  immediately  upon  his 
leaving  this  pulpit,  to  the  then  young  and  growing  Second 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Rah  way,  N.  J.  He  labored  there  a 
number  of  years,  resigned,  and  became  pastor  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Waterfo|r*„N.  Y.,  where  he  died  in 
1862,  after  a  ministry  of  14  years. 

The  Rev.  David  King,  after  resting  for  some  time  subse- 
quent to  his  leaving  this  pulpit,  thought  himself  able  to 
settle,  and  was  called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Stillwater,  N.  Y.  He  had  been  there  only  a  few 
niontiTs  when  he  was  obliged  to  succumb  to  the  disease 
which  had  all  along  assailed  him.  He  vuMfa^MMlt^s^^ialM^ 
j»«HLi&U^«^pmi^there  died  May  15,  1S53.  A  sermon  com- 
memorative of  his  life  was  preached  in  this  pulpit  by  the 
present  pastor,  on  Sunday  morning.  May  22d,  from  2  Cor. 
iv.  12  :  "  So  then  death  worketh  in  us,  but  life  in  you." 

Thus  all  the  pastors  of  the  church,  previous  to  the  pres- 
ent one,  have  passed  away.  During  the  short  interval 
which  followed  Mr.  King's  release  from  the  pastorate  here, 
the  pulpit  was  supplied  statedly  for  a  number  of  weeks  by 
the  Rev.  James  Vernor  Henry,  who  for  many  years  lived 
among  us  with  his  family,  and  formed  part  of  our  congre- 
gation. More  than  three  years  ago,  he  also  followed  the 
others  to  the  place  of  rest. 

It  may  be  desirable  to  note  that  at  this  time  three  steps 
of  some  interest  were  taken.  The  first  of  these  was,  that 
on  September  5,  185 1,  the  original  motion  was  made  for  the 
organization  of  a  Second  Presbyterian  Church  here,  and 
notice  was  ordered  to  be  given  from  this  pulpit  of  a  preach- 
ing service  to  be  held  in  the  Mission  School  room  on  Sab- 
bath afternoon  of  September  7th.  This  movement  after- 
ward developed  into  what  now  has  long  been  known  as  the 
Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  this  city. 

The  second  incident  was,  that  at  this  time  the  prospect 


78  History  of  the 

of  the  growth  of  the  city  was  sucfi  that  it  was  decided  to 
change  the  relations  of  the  church  from  the  Presbytefy  of 
New  York  and  to  unite  with  the  Presbytery  of  EHzabeth- 
town,  with  a  view  of  ultimately  having,  what  we  since  have 
in  part,  a  distinct  Presbytery  for  Hudson  County.  The  res- 
olution to  consult  the  Presbytery  of  New  York  was  adopt- 
ed by  the  congregation  at  the  same  meeting  which  agreed 
to  consent  to  Mr.  King's  resignation.  The  Presbytery, 
however,  having  remanded  the  subject  to  the  congregation 
for  decision,  as  the  only  party  that  could  decide  such  a 
question,  by  a  vote'  of  the  congregation  taken  at  a  subse- 
quent meeting  it  was  decided  to  make  no  change. 

I  mention  as  the  third  incident,  that  owing  to  certain 
difficulties  which  had  occurred  previous  to  Mr.  King's  in- 
stallation, a  proposition  was  made  in  1850  to  unite  with 
their  old  friends,  the  First  Reformed  Dutch  Church.  The 
terms,  however,  upon  which  the  proposition  was  to  be  dis- 
cussed were  not  agreed  upon,  the  Presbyterians  desiring 
that  the  name  should  not  come  in  question.  The  Reformed 
Dutch  Church,  on  the  other  hand,  thought  that  this  point 
should  be  considered.  The  Reformed  Dutch  Church  there- 
fore declined  to  act,  and  the  proposition  was  withdrawn. 

Before  Mr.  King  left  Jersey  City  a  meeting  of  the  con- 
gregation was  called  and  held  November  14th,  at  which  he 
presided,  and  the  name  of  the  Rev.  Charles  K.  Imbrie,  of 
Rahway,  was  proposed  to  the  people.  In  consequence 
of  this  a  subsequent  meeting  was  called  to  consider  the 
question  of  calling  Mr.  Imbrie  to  the  pastorate  of  this 
church.  This  meeting  was  held  December  8,  185 1.  At  this 
meeting  the  Rev.  Edward  E.  Rankin,  of  New  York,  pre- 
sided ;  and  then  and  there  your  present  pastor,  who  had  at 
that  time  been  pastor  for  eleven  years  of  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Rahway,  N.  J.,  was  called  to  take  the  pas- 
toral charge  of  this  congregation.  He  came  and  preached 
in  this  pulpit  for  the  first  time  on  Sunday,  December  14, 
1 85 1.  After  due  consideration  he  decided  to  accept  the 
call,  and  was  installed  as  pastor  of  this  church  by  the  Pres- 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  79 

bytery  of  New  York  on  Wednesday  evening,  February  11, 
1852.  At  these  services  the  Rev.  Edward  E.  Rankin  pre- 
sided. Prayer  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  Lewis  H.  Lee,  the 
former  associate  pastor.  The  Rev.  Edson  Rockwell,  of 
Brooklyn,  preached  the  sermon  ;  the  Rev.  William  Bannard 
gave  the  charge  to  the  pastor ;  the  Rev.  Frederick  Clark,  of 
Astoria,  the  charge  to  the  people  ;  and  prayer  was  offered 
by  the  Rev.  Ravaud  K.  Rodgers,  of  Bound  Brook,  N.  J., 
grandson  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Rodgers,  the  first  pastor  of  the 
Wall  Street  church.  New  York.  And  so  began  the  pastor- 
ate which,  in  God's  providence,  amid  some  trials  and  many 
conscious  defects,  and  yet  attended  with  many  gracious 
blessings  among  a  kind  and  affectionate  people,  has  con- 
tinued nearly  twenty-five  years.* 

This  brings  us  to  the  present  time.  During  this  interval 
several  changes  in  the  structure  of  the  original  building  have 
been  effected  which  may  be  here  mentioned.  In  1852  the 
gallery  was  changed  from  the  form  of  slips  to  the  form  of 
square  front  pews,  with  a  slip  in  the  rear  of  each,  and  the 
iron  railing  was  placed  along  the  front.  It  was  contem- 
plated at  that  time  also  to  place  another  row  of  pews  in  the 
front  on  the  ground  floor  along  the  breadth  of  the  building. 
But  this  was  abandoned.  Some  time  later  the  last  two 
square  pews  on  each  side  of  the  church  by  the  door  were 
changed  into  the  present  form.  In  1856  the  church  was 
entirely  renovated.  The  old  Wall  Street  upholstery  was 
removed  and  the  present  substituted.  The  basement  lec- 
ture-room was  enlarged  and  the  back  part  fitted  up  and  di- 
vided into  an  infant  school  and  a  large  and  commodious 
study.  In  1868,  during  the  pastor's  absence  in  Europe,  the 
old  closed  pulpit  was  removed  and  substituted  by  the  pres- 
ent open-platform  structure.  In  1871  the  basement  was 
again  thoroughly  refitted  by  the  ladies,  the  partition  be- 
tween the  two  back  rooms  being  removed  and  the  present 
handsome  church  parlor  fitted  up. 

The  building  has  nowf  stood  in  Jersey  City  thirty-two 

*  A.D.  1876.  +  In  1876. 


8o  History  of  the 

years,  or  within  two  years  as  long  as  it  stood  in  New  York 
City.  And  it  seems  rather  singular  that  the  building  should 
thus  have  twice  gone  tlirough  the  same  experience  of  being 
erected  when  the  population  around  was  large  and  church- 
going,  then  of  passing  through  all  the  changes  incident  to 
an  up-town  movement  of  the  people,  and  finally,  seeing  its 
locality  more  and  more  entrenched  upon  by  the  encroach- 
ments of  business  and  commerce,  until  its  removal  seems 
but  a  question  of  time.     So  it  is  in  this  changing  world. 

During  the  existence  of  this  church  there  have  been 
added  to  the  communion-roll,  up  to  this  present  year,  1876, 
close  upon  800  persons  (796) — i.  e.,  twenty-five  persons  on  an 
average  each  year.  Of  these,  528  have  united  on  certificate, 
and  268  on  profession.  This  increase  has  been  in  general 
very  regular.  At  two  different  seasons,  however,  during 
the  present  pastorate,  the  manifestation  of  the  renewing  in- 
fluences of  God's  Spirit  have  been  wider  than  usual  and  the 
ingatherings  have  been  larger  than  during  ordinary^  j^ears. 
God  has  blessed  us  with  harmony.  In  all  the  varied  insti- 
tutions of  the  church,  the  Session,  the  Diaconate,  the  Sab- 
bath-school, the  ladies'  societies,  and  in  the  plans  adopted 
for  advancing  the  interests  and  usefulness  of  the  church, 
God  has  preserved  us  well-nigh  entirely  from  all  unpleasant 
differences,  and  has  bound  us  together  as  pastor  and  people 
with  one  heart.  We  have  indeed  been  called  to  administer 
discipline ;  but  the  cases  calling  for  it  have,  by  God's  good- 
ness, been  few  ;  and  as  to  severe  discipline,  very  few.  It  is 
a  matter  for  gratitude  that  the  church  members  as  a  whole 
have  ever  walked  with  Christian  propriety. 

It  is  with  pleasure  we  record  that  of  our  communicants 
four  have  become  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and  three  have 
gone  to  foreign  lands,  and  one  to  the  far  West,  as  missiona- 
ries. We  have  also  received  to  our  communion  one  from 
the  far  East,  a  Chinaman,  who,  after  examination  through 
an  interpreter,  publicly  renounced  heathenism  and  was  pub- 
licly baptized  in  the  faith  of  Christ  in  the  presence  of  the 
congregation. 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  8i 

I  have  already  spokerf  of  the  first  elders,  Messrs.  Strong, 
Stowell,  and  Hardenburgh.  Since  then  there  have  been  in- 
stalled as  elders, — June  30,  1850,  Thomas  H.  Shafer  and 
Justus  Slater;  January  26,  185 1,  Ellis  F.  Ayers  and  James 
S.  Davenport;  May  6,  1855,  William  R.  Janeway  and  Will- 
iam H.  Talcott;  December  14,  1863,  Bennington  F.  Ran- 
dolph and  Edwin  Wygant ;  December  8,  1867,  Horace  S. 
Allen,  Nathaniel  C.  Jaquith,  Titus  B.  Meigs,  David  M. 
Stiger,  Thomas  H.  Shafer,  A.  S.  Jewell,  and  John  Rodgers. 
All  these  having  been  previously  duly  elected,  were  ordained 
and  installed,  or  simply  installed  at  the  times  above  named, 
with  the  exception  of  Messrs.  A.  S.  Jewell  and  John  Rod- 
gers, who  declined  to  serve.  Mr.  Shafer  was  reinstalled 
December  8,  1867,  he  having  been  absent  in  another  city 
for  a  time  and  having  returned. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  church  the  Elders  served  also  as 
Deacons  until  the  year  1850,  when  Mr.  Abraham  Hoagland 
and  Mr.  Ellis  F.  Ayers  were  elected  deacons.  Mr.  Ayers 
declined  to  serve  and  Mr.  Hoagland  was  ordained  alone 
June  30,  1850.  Since  that  time  there  have  been  elected  and 
ordained  to  this  office, — January  26,  1851,  Joseph  Bunnell 
and  Edwin  Wygant ;  May  6,  1855,  N.  C.  Jaquith  and  Erwin 
Crane;  December  8,  1867,  Henry  W.  Buxton,  James  R. 
Henry,  Charles  Jaquith,  and  Joseph  F.  Randolph,  Jr.  Of 
all  the  Ruling  Elders,  Messrs.  B.  F.  Randolph,  D.  M.  Stiger, 
and  T.  B.  Meigs  alone  remain  with  us.  Messrs.  H.  S.  Al- 
len and  James  S.  Davenport  have  removed  from  the  city, 
but  have  not  withdrawn  their  membership.  Of  the  Deacons, 
Messrs.  James  R.  Henry,  Joseph  F.  Randolph,  Jr.,  and 
Henry  W.  Buxton  only  are  still  among  us.*     These  officers 

*  In  1876.  Since  this  date  the  following  were  elected  Elders,  De- 
cember 7,  1879,  viz.  :  Messrs.  Henry  W.  Buxton,  Flavel  McGee,  Mat- 
thias Smith,  and  William  Ewan.  Mr.  Smith  declined  to  serve;  the 
others  were  ordained  January  4,  1880.  At  the  same  time  (December 
7th)  Mr.  John  B.  Huntting  was  elected  deacon.  He  declined  serv- 
ing, and  was  therefore  not  ordained.  He  has  nevertheless  ever 
since  rendered  most  efficient  service  to  the  congregation  in  everjHV 
duty  which  the  office  could  require. 
6 


82  History  of  the 

have  all  proved  faithful  men.  And  it  is  an  exceedingly 
great  comfort  to  your  pastor,  as  I  am  sure  it  is  to  the  mem- 
bers of  this  church,  to  call  to  recollection  the  many  years  of 
service  during  which  they  have  gone  in  and  out  among  us, 
steadily  performing  their  official  duties  to  this  church  and 
honoring  the  Lord  by  their  Christian  deportment.  No  dis- 
cord has  ever  marred  our  delightful  intercourse  with  one  an- 
other. Some  of  them  have  passed  away  in  blessed  hope  to 
their  reward ;  others  have  left  this  field  to  be  diligently  em- 
ployed in  other  spheres  of  Christian  service.  A  few,  as  I 
have  said,  still  remain,  to  be,  under  the  Lord's  hand,  our 
helps  and  guides  to  the  congregation  as  we  pass  through 
the  wilderness  to  the  land  of  rest, — wise  counsellors,  kind 
friends.  Christian  brethren,  all.  Doubtless,  when  the  chief 
Shepherd  shall  appear,  they  "  shall  receive  the  crown  of 
glory  which  fadeth  not  away."  * 

The  early  Trustees,  chosen  in  1844, 1  have  also  mentioned  : 
Gregory,  Henderson,  Strong,  Hardenburgh,  Southmayd, 
Randall,  Alexander.  These  are  names  still  well  remem- 
bered in  this  congregation.  Since  that  time  many  others 
have  been  elected  to  manage  our  temporal  affairs  whose 
names  will  be  found  on  a  subsequent  page.*  To  the  labors 
and  discretion,  and,  in  a  number  of  cases,  to  the  untiring 
energy  and  large  liberality  of  these  men  this  church  owes 
much,  under  God,  for  its  continuance,  for  its  prosperity, 
sometimes  under  critical  circumstances,  and  for  the  success- 
ful prosecution  of  our  work.  If  the  spirit  which  has  per- 
vaded their  body  be  any  proper  criterion,  we  must  believe 
that  what  they  have  done  has  been  done  with  a  desire  to 
promote  the  honor  and  success  of  Christ's  Church.  And 
although  they  derive  their  authority  from  the  State  only,  as 
the  incorporated  representatives  of  the  congregation  in  civil 
affairs,  yet  the  service  which  they  have  rendered  and  the 
zeal  which  they  have  manifested  without  any  hope  of  per- 

*  See  list  of  the  Trustees  of  the  church  during  the  successive 
years  of  its  history  on  pages  121-125. 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  83 

sonal  reward  and  oftentimes  at  much  sacrifice  is  not  forgot- 
ten of  Him  whose  servants  all  faithful  ofificers  in  any  de- 
partment of  His  cause,  truly  are.  May  His  reward  be  given 
to  them  and  theirs  in  that  day.  The  present  Board  is  com- 
posed of  the  following  members,  viz. :  Flavel  McGee,  Benj. 
G.  Clarke,  H.  A.  Coursen,  Wm.  E.  Stiger,  T.  B.  Meigs,  J.  A. 
Kunkel,  and  A.  S.  Jewell. 

It  has  always  been  the  aim  of  the  pastor  to  bring  this 
church  to  recognize  its  obligations  to  aid  in  the  preaching 
of  the  Gospel  through  all  the  earth  and  to  be  alive  to  the 
appeals  arising  from  the  wants  and  sorrows  of  men,  tem- 
poral and  especially  spiritual,  everywhere ;  in  a  word,  that 
this  church  should  fulfil  the  Lord's  command  to  "  preach  the 
Gospel  to  every  creature,"  and  the  Apostle's  injunction,  "  to 
do  good  to  all  men  as  we  have  opportunity,  and  especially 
to  them  of  the  household  of  faith."  And  for  this  reason  he 
has  invoked  the  prayers  and  the  gifts  of  this  people  in  be- 
half of  these  objects.  I  have  spoken  of  the  sending  forth 
from  our  number  representatives  to  the  Home  and  Foreign 
fields.  Besides  this  the  gifts  of  this  congregation  have  been 
yearly  bestowed  in  generous  measure  to  all  the  Boards  of 
the  Church,  and  to  many  other  affiliated  schemes  for  fulfill- 
ing Christ's  work  on  earth.  I  had  thought  of  presenting  to 
you  in  full  the  amounts  bestowed  for  these  objects  by  this 
church  and  which  I  have  enumerated  to  you  year  by  year. 
But  let  this  pass.  I  am  sure  that  in  the  very  highest  and 
most  self-sacrificing  contributions,  we  have  done  little  com- 
pared with  the  great  mercies  received  by  us  from  Him  who 
gave  His  very  self  for  us.  Let  me  then  only  say  that  these 
gifts  have  increased  yearly  and  that  the  donations  made  by 
this  church  to  help  others  have  quite  equalled  or  even  ex- 
ceeded what  has  been  done  for  the  maintenance  of  the  truth 
among  ourselves. 

For  assistance  in  this  beneficent  work  of  the  church,  we 
have  been  much  indebted  to  two  institutions  whose  work 
has  been  conducted  by  the  ladies  of  the  congregation. 

The  oldest  of  these  is  the  Ladies'  Mite  Society.     It  would 


84  History  of  the 

be  hard  to  set  forth  specifically  the  large  amount  of  work 
done  by  the  faithful  women  who  have  labored  in  this  de- 
partment. It  has  not  only  given  generous  amd  wise  aid  in 
meeting  many  specific  wants  for  the  comfort  of  the  congre- 
gation, but  besides  this  it  has  given  large  aid  in  meeting  the 
need  for  clothing  by  our  missionaries  in  the  West. 

The  other  association  of  the  ladies  is  of  more  recent 
growth.  It  was  founded  indeed  since  the  union  of  the  Old 
and  New  School  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
United  States  of  America.  It  was  organized  at  first,  and 
soon  after  the  union,  as  the  "  Zenana  Society  ";  and  more 
recently,  in  November,  1872,  as  our  "Woman's  Foreign 
Missionary  Society."  Year  after  year  it  has  labored  on 
steadily  in  this  cause  and  has  raised  hundreds  of  dollars  an- 
nually to  assist  in  establishing  the  Gospel  in  Japan  and 
other  places.  It  has  been  cheered  in  this  work  by  the  ready 
aid  of  the  youthful  members  composing  "  The  Chrysanthe- 
mum Band." 

T)ur  Sabbath-school  has  occupied  so  important  a  place 
that  the  history  of  the  church  would  not  be  complete  with- 
out a  somewhat  detailed  statement  respecting  it.  This  has 
been  carefully  prepared  by  our  esteemed  deacon,  Mr.  James 
R.  Henry,  who  has  for  many  years  been  connected  with  our 
Sabbath-school  and  who  long  occupied  the  position  of  its 
secretary.  The  statement  will  be  found  on  a  subsequent 
page. 

I  must  not  forget  to  state  that  for  many  years  this  church 
has  been  entirely  free  from  any  debt,  each  year's  accounts 
being  fully  met  as  the  year  passed.  At  the  beginning  of  its 
history  indeed  it  was  necessarily  thus  incumbered  by  reason 
of  the  large  cost  of  the  building.  Notwithstanding  the  lib- 
eral donations  made  at  the  outset  toward  the  building  fund, 
there  still  remained  a  considerable  amount  of  indebtedness 
when  the  building  was  finished.  This  consisted  mainly  of  a 
balance  owed  to  Mr.  Dudley  S.  Gregory  and  to  the  estate 
of  David  Henderson,  deceased,  who  had  liberally  advanced 
the  money  for  the  completion  of  the  church  building.    This 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  85 

balance  amounted  to  $12,000.  Besides  this,  there  was  due 
also  to  these  gentlemen,  for  other  bills  paid,  the  sum  of 
$3,169,  making  a  total  of  $15,169.  To  the  architect,  Mr. 
Andrew  Clerk,  also  there  was  a  considerable  sum  due.  He, 
however,  very  generously  offered  to  remit  all  other  claims 
against  the  church  upon  receipt  of  a  bond  at  6  per  cent,  for 
$350.  There  was  further  due  to  Mr.  Gregory  for  the  organ, 
beyond  what  the  ladies  had  raised,  the  sum  of  $1,625, 
making  a  total  indebtedness  by  the  church  at  the  start  of 

$17,145- 

In  addition  to  the  above,  when  the  Rev.  John  Johnstone 

resigned  his  pastoral  ofifice  here,  the  Trustees,  as  already 
stated,  had  given  him  a  bond  for  the  payment  of  $600  annu- 
ally during  his  lifetime,  as  a  token  of  respect  and  an  acknowl- 
edgment of  the  value  of  his  services  by  the  congregation. 

It  may  be  readily  understood  that  all  this  was  a  consider- 
able burden  to  the  young  church  in  its  early  history.  For 
relief  from  this  indebtedness  the  church  was  under  obliga- 
tion, first  of  all,  to  these  gentlemen  themselves,  who  held 
the  bonds.  Mr.  Andrew  Clerk,  having  at  the  first  released 
the  congregation,  as  just  stated,  from  all  obligations  to  him 
whatever,  beyond  the  bond  for  $350  at  interest,  some  years 
after,  very  generously  released  them  entirely  by  returning 
the  bond  itself,  and  received  from  the  Trustees  a  special 
vote  of  thanks  for  this  new  token  of  his  kindness.  The  Hon. 
Dudley  S.  Gregory  also,  and  the  heirs  of  David  Henderson, 
Esq.,  after  remitting,  in  1855,  the  interest  which  had  accrued 
upon  their  bonds  for  the  preceding  five  years,  agreed  to  de- 
mand no  interest  on  the  bonds  for  the  future,  if  the  Trustees 
would  engage  to  pay  regularly  the  annual  interest  due  to  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Johnstone.  This  the  Trustees  agreed  to  do,  with 
a  vote  of  cordial  thanks  to  those  gentlemen  for  this  arrange- 
ment, as  being  substantially  a  yearly  gift  of  that  amount  to 
the  church.  This  sum  of  $600  per  annum  was  regularly  paid 
to  Mr.  Johnstone  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  in  Scotland, 
May,  1864,  and  afterward  continued  to  the  surviving  mem- 
ber of  his  family  for  the  rest  of  the  current  year.     An  ad- 


86  History  of  the 

ditional  act  of  kindness  was  done  by  Mr.  Gregory  and  the 
heirs  of  Mr.  Henderson,  in  subsequently  agreeing  to  cancel 
all  further  obligation  of  the  church  to  them,  in  consideration 
of  two  bonds  of  $5 ,000  each,  given  them  by  the  church,  with 
interest  at  6  per  cent.  Mr.  Gregoiy  further  agreed  to  remit 
all  accrued  interest  on  the  balance  still  due  him  for  the  organ, 
and  to  receive,  as  payment  in  full,  the  part  of  the  principal, 
$864,  yet  unpaid.  These  generous  proposals  were  also 
accepted  by  the  Trustees  with  special  thanks.  This  con- 
tinued until  1864,  when  Mr.  Johnstone  died.  Meantime  a 
number  of  the  members  of  the  congregation  had  been  very 
liberal  in  their  donations,  so  that  notwithstanding  the  above 
obligations,  the  current  expenses  were  paid,  the  church  was 
once  and  again  refitted  and  repaired  at  considerable  outlay, 
the  salary  of  the  pastor  from  time  to  time  generously  in- 
creased, and  also  the  standing  debt  in  a  measure  reduced. 
But  in  November  of  1863,  on  a  motion  in  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees by  Mr.  F.  B.  Betts,  it  was  decided  to  make  an  effort  to 
remove  the  church  from  all  remaining  indebtedness.  To 
carry  out  this  resolve,  Messrs.  Benjamin  G.  Clarke,  Hampton 
A.  Coursen,  and  James  R.  Thompson,  hearty  and  liberal 
supporters  of  the  church,  were  appointed  a  committee.  Their 
efforts  were  completely  successful.  By  their  own  personal 
liberality  and  the  generous  contributions  of  other  members 
of  the  congregation  at  their  solicitation,  they  reported  in 
April,  1864,  just  previous  to  Mr.  Johnstone's  decease,  that 
funds  had  been  collected  to  pay  off  the  entire  standing  and 
floating  debts  of  the  congregation,  and  to  leave  some  balance 
for  future  use.  This  was  a  great  satisfaction  to  the  congrega- 
tion, and  called  forth  a  vote  of  hearty  thanks  to  these  gentle- 
men for  their  assiduity.  From  that  time  to  the  present  hour 
the  church  has  been  entirely  free  from  debt,  any  remaining 
deficiency  at  the  close  of  the  year  being  met  by  special  gifts 
at  the  time. 

[Note  added,  October  10,  1888: 

The  next  effort  was  to  remove,  if  possible,  the  ground-rent 
of  $60  per  annum,  which  had  been  paid  from  the  early  his- 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  87 

tory  of  the  church.     This  effort  was  made  about  the  year 

1872.  The  direction  of  this  matter  was  committed  by  the 
Trustees  to  Flavel  McGee,  Esq.,  one  of  their  number.  By 
his  faithful  and  wise  efforts  arrangements  were  made  with 
the  parties  then  Hving  in  New  Haven,  Conn.,  who  held  the 
ground-rent  of  the  lots.  The  money  was  paid,  and  a  con- 
veyance of  the  quit-rents  was  made  by  Theodore  B.  Wool- 
sey  and  his  wife  to  Benjamin  G.  Clarke,  Esq.,  dated  May  5, 

1873,  at  New  Haven,  Conn.  Mr.  Clarke,  a  member  of  the 
congregation  and  Board  of  Trustees,  held  the  same  until  the 
releases  spoken  of  below  were  effected,  and  then  made  a  con- 
veyance of  the  quit-rents  to  the  church  under  date  of  No- 
vember 5,  1880.  And  the  property,  from  that  time,  came 
into  the  unincumbered  possession  of  the  congregation. 

The  last  effort  as  to  the  property  was  to  obtain  release 
from  certain  conditions  imposed  in  the  original  deeds  given 
to  the  church,  and  which  stood  in  the  way  of  the  sale  of  the 
property  at  any  time,  or  the  removal  of  the  church  elsewhere, 
or  the  cessation  of  public  worship  there.  It  was,  I  believe, 
at  the  suggestion  of  the  Hon.  Bennington  F.  Randolph,  and 
with  the  Expressed  wish  of  the  Hon.  D.  S.  Gregory,  not  long 
before  his  decease,  who  saw,  from  the  changes  taking  place 
in  the  population  of  the  city,  that  it  would  be  desirable  for 
the  congregation  to  remove  at  some  time,  that  the  effort 
was  undertaken.  Mr.  Gregory  himself,  and  also'Mr.  David 
Henderson,  were  the  grantors  who  had  caused  the  insertion 
of  these  conditions  in  the  original  deeds.  Mr.  Gregory  con- 
veyed a  release  to  the  congregation  from  the  restrictions 
June  7,  1871  ;  and  he  advised  that  application  should  be 
made  to  all  the  heirs  of  the  estate  of  David  Henderson,  de- 
ceased, to  grant  a  like  release.  Mr.  Flavel  McGee  undertook 
and  effected  this  service.  Application  was  made  to  all  these 
heirs  in  this  country  and  abroad  for  their  individual  release. 
It  was  in  every  case  granted,  the  last  release  being  made 
April  16,  1880.  From  this  time  the  whole  property  became 
the  unconditioned  possession  of  the  congregation  to  sell  or 
to  remove  it,  as  they  might  deem  proper.] 


88  History  of  the 

I  have  already  stated  why  this  church  was  organized  by 
the  Presbytery  of  New  York  instead  of  one  on  this  side  of 
the  river.  It  continued  in  this  connection  until  the  year 
1870,  when  the  union  between  the  Old  and  New  School 
branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  having  been  effected 
after  thirty-three  years  of  separation,  the  new  Presbytery  of 
Jersey  City,  covering  the  three  counties  of  Hudson,  Bergen, 
and  Passaic,  in  New  Jersey,  was  formed  and  this  church  was 
thus  transferred,  from  the  Presbytery  of  New  York  and  the 
Synod  of  New  York,  to  the  Presbytery  of  Jersey  City,  within 
the  bounds  of  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey. 

As  we  look  back  to  the  year  1844,  when  this  church  was 
organized,  what  great  changes  do  we  discover  in  both  our 
city  itself  and  the  number  of  churches  erected  for  worship 
in  it.  From  being  a  territory,  bounded  by  the  river  on  one 
side  and  Mill  Creek  on  the  other,  and  extending  in  the  north 
and  south  direction  from  Hoboken  to  the  Morris  Canal,  the 
city  now  reaches  as  far  as  Greenville  and  takes  in  Hudson 
City.  And  instead  of  a  population  of  4,500,  it  has  now 
82,000.*  And  as  to  the  churches,  we  have  seen,  during 
that  time,  the  one  Presbyterian  organization  grow  until  we 
number  six  congregations,  besides  two  of  the  United  Pres- 
byterian body,  or  eight  in  all.  The  Reformed  churches 
have  increased  from  two  to  nine.  The  one  Baptist  church 
has  enlarged  to  six  and  the  single  Episcopal  church  has 
grown  to  nine.  The  Methodists,  in  the  early  years  of  the 
city,  had  one  organization  on  York  Street,  and  a  previous 
one  (called,  I  am  told,  "  The  Ranters  ")  occupying  a  build- 
ing in  Grand  Street,  near  to  Greene.  The  Methodists  have 
grown  from  such  feeble  beginnings  until  they  now  number 
fourteen  churches.  The  Congregationalists  and  Lutherans, 
at  that  time  both  unrepresented,  have  since  then  each  be- 
come two  organizations.  In  short,  instead  of  the  four 
churches  occupying  then  the  ground,  together  with  the 
Reformed  church  in  Wayne  Street,  Jersey  City  now  num- 

*  In  1876.    In  1888  the  population  is  153,513. 


First  Presbyterian  Chirch  of  Jersey  City.  89 

bers  (1876)  fifty  Protestant  churches,  besides  the  eight  of 
the  Catholic  Church,  which  has  greatly  increased  during  the 
same  time. 

On  the  other  hand,  among  these  changes  we  cannot  fail 
to  note  the  rapid  alterations  which  have  taken  place  in  the 
surroundings  of  this  building  and  the  changes  in  the  persons 
who  attend  these  services.  As  already  intimated,  instead 
of  our  being  surrounded  by  a  dense  and  church-going  popu- 
lation, as  was  once  the  case,  this  population  has  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  been  flowing  to  more  remote  parts  of  the  city 
and  to  other  places  of  habitation.  Even  indeed  before  this 
drift  of  population  away  from  us  became  so  general,  the 
changes  in  the  audience  have  been  very  great,  by  reason  of 
the  places  of  the  many  who  left  being  occupied  by  others. 
This  has  been  so  much  the  case  that  our  audience-room  has 
been  occupied  and  vacated  by  three  almost  entirely  different 
audiences  in  the  thirty-two  years  during  which  the  building 
has  stood.  As  I  look  around  to-day  I  can  discern  only 
eleven  families  of  those  who  greeted  me  about  twenty-five 
years  ago,  when  I  first  stood  in  this  pulpit.  And  of  the  233 
communicants  then  on  the  roll,  only  nine  are  yet  with  us. 
All  the  rest  are  either  deceased  or  gone  to  other  places  of 
residence.  Thus  we  have  had  our  trials  while  we  have  had 
our  great  mercies — a  changing  church  while  yet  a  prosper- 
ous one,  and  a  united  people.  In  the  midst  of  all  these 
changes  the  congregation  has  kept  onward,  endeavoring  to 
do  its  work  for  the  Lord  in  its  place.  Suggestions  have 
been  put  forward,  indeed,  at  times,  looking  to  the  possibility 
of  our  removing  to  some  remoter  and  more  promising  local- 
ity for  future  continued  work.  But  it  has  been  judged  that 
our  work  in  this  spot  is  not  yet  finished  and  no  serious  mo- 
tion has  been  made  for  a  removal. 

And  now,  as  we  look  back  in  review,  surely  we  can  say 
with  David,  "  Goodness  and  mercy  have  followed  us  con- 
tinually." During  the  thirty-two  years  gone  by  since  the 
day  of  our  organization,  a  whole  generation  has  passed  away 
from  the  earth.     With  the  poor  heathen,  alas !  their  tem- 


go  History  of  the 

pies  and  superstitious  worship  are  all  that  they  possess  in 
their  religions.  For  these  have  no  spiritual  power  or  any 
efficacy  to  impart  or  to  continue  life  to  the  soul  of  the  wor- 
shipper. They  leave  no  blessing  behind.  Though  their 
temples  may  have  stood  for  centuries,  they  have  conveyed 
no  spiritual  benediction  from  one  generation  to  another. 
How  different  is  it  with  the  passing  years  of  a  standing 
Christian  church !  Each  year  leaves  its  impress  behind  it 
for  good.  And  as  you  and  I  look  down  to-day  and  see 
before  us  these  once  young  children  now  grown  up  here  to 
take  the  place  of  their  fathers,  and  remember  the  sweet 
greetings  with  which  we  have,  under  this  same  roof,  wel- 
comed so  many  of  them  to  the  Lord's  table,  and  afterward 
seen  them  bring  their  offspring  in  turn  and  devote  them  to 
the  Lord  God,  whom  we  together,  during  these  years,  have 
been  worshipping  and  still  worship,  we  feel  deeply  how 
blessed  and  abiding  are  the  holy  influences  of  every  stand- 
ing sanctuary  of  God.  Let  us  live,  then,  in  the  future,  to 
appreciate  more  heartily  the  value  of  God's  house  while  our 
day  lasts.  Let  us  be  in  earnest  in  its  work  and  wait  habit- 
ually within  the  doors  of  its  courts.  And  while  we,  of 
course,  look  most  desiringly  "  to  be  clothed  upon,"  each  of 
us,  "  with  our  house  which  is  from  heaven,"  and  long  there- 
fore most  for  our  Lord's  appearing  and  kingdom,  let  us  not 
forget  that  it  is  by  our  faithfulness  and  service  for  our  Lord 
while  we  are  here  in  this  present  world,  that  the  degree  of 
our  joy  and  blessedness  will  be  measured  in  the  day  when 
He  comes  "  to  give  to  every  man  according  as  his  work  has 
been." 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  91 


PREFACE  TO  SERMON  V. 

As  was  stated  in  the  closing  sermon  of  the  preceding 
series,  preached  in  the  year  1876,  it  had  been  even  at  that 
time  increasingly  evident,  for  some  years,  to  all  interested 
in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City  that,  owing 
to  the  constant  removal  of  families  from  the  part  of  the 
city  where  the  church  stood,  and  the  growing  pressure  of 
business  interests  in  the  same  section,  the  congregation 
sooner  or  later  must  remove  from  that  locality.  Without 
any  formal  resolution,  however,  it  was  tacitly  agreed  that 
they  were  not  yet  ready  to  resign  the  situation.  And  in 
reply  to  the  question  as  to  any  change  in  the  pastorate,  it 
was  considered  best  to  continue  as  heretofore  as  long  as 
possible.  For  this  purpose,  therefore,  the  annual  expenses 
of  the  congregation  were  cheerfully  met  by  those  still  re- 
maining, the  ordinances  regularly  continued,  and  the  work 
of  beneficence  in  the  church  carefully  prosecuted.  This 
continued  until  the  year  1888.  At  the  opening  of  the 
spring  in  this  year  it  was  found  that  not  only  had  the  re- 
moval of  families  much  increased,  but  also  that  the  building 
itself  was  in  need  of  large  repairs  at  a  heavy  expense,  if  it 
was  still  to  be  occupied.  This  brought  the  matter  to  a 
crisis.  Upon  a  suggestion  of  the  pastor  it  became  a  ques- 
tion whether  some  new  step  was  not  now  advisable.  Meet- 
ings were  held,  first  of  the  Trustees,  and  afterward  of  the 
Trustees  and  the  Session  together  with  the  pastor,  wherein 
the  whole  situation  was  freely  discussed.  It  was  then  agreed 
by  all  that  the  time  had  arrived  when  the  question  should 
be  fairly  proposed  to  the  congregation,  whether  services  in 
that  building  should  not  now  cease.  In  order  to  give  the 
congregation  the  opportunity  to  act  entirely  untrammeled 
in  the  case,  the  pastor  gave  notice  that  he  would  now  do  as 


92  History  of  the 

he  had  always  intended  doing  when  this  crisis  should  arise, 
and  request  from  the  Presbytery  a  dissolution  of  the  pas- 
toral relations.  This  was  at  first  opposed  as  inexpedient 
by  the  meeting  then  assembled,  and  afterward  by  the  con- 
gregation. But  upon  the  statement  of  the  pastor  the  con- 
gregation at  length  acquiesced  under  the  circumstances. 
After  due  notice  from  the  pulpit  the  congregation  met  in 
the  church  building  March  28,  1888,  and  subsequently  on 
two  other  occasions.  The  question  being  plainly  stated  to 
them,  it  was  at  length  unanimously  agreed  by  all  present 
that  services  in  the  building  should  cease  at  the  end  of  the 
month  of  April,  and  that  the  closing  exercises  should  be 
held  on  Sabbath  morning,  April  29,  1888.  On  April  17, 
1888,  the  Presbytery  of  Jersey  City  met  at  Passaic,  and  at 
the  request  of  the  pastor,  the  congregation  acquiescing,  the 
pastoral  relation  was  dissolved,  to  take  effect  on  April  29th  ; 
and  the  pastor,  after  being  appointed  Moderator  of  the 
Session,  was  directed  to  preach  the  closing  sermon  and  to 
declare  the  pulpit  vacant. 

Under  this  appointment  the  discourse  which  follows  was 
delivered  by  the  pastor  in  the  church  on  Sabbath  morning, 
April  29,  1888.  There  was  a  very  large  audience,  which  in- 
cluded very  many  who  had  been  formerly  communicants  in 
this  church,  or  had  regularly  attended  its  services.  As  may 
be  easily  understood,  it  was  a  solemn  and  impressive  scene. 
The  pastor  conducted  the  services  throughout.  After  a 
voluntary  by  the  choir  and  the  prayer  of  invocation,  the 
congregation  joined  in  singing  the  following  hymn  : 

"  O  God,  our  help  in  ages  past, 
Our  hope  for  years  to  come, 
Our  shelter  from  the  stormy  blast, 
And  our  eternal  home  ! 

"  Before  the  hills  in  order  stood. 
Or  earth  received  her  frame. 
From  everlasting  Thou  art  God, 
To  endless  years  the  same. 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  93 

"  Thy  word  commands  our  flesh  to  dust : 
'  Return,  ye  sons  of  men  '; 
All  nations  rose  from  earth  at  first, 
And  turn  to  earth  again. 

"  Time,  like  an  ever-rolling  stream, 
Bears  all  its  sons  away  ; 
They  fly,  forgotten,  as  a  dream 
Dies  at  the  opening  day. 

"  O  God,  our  help  in  ages  past. 
Our  hope  for  years  to  come. 
Be  Thou  our  guard  while  troubles  last. 
And  our  eternal  home  !  " 

The  singing,  throughout  the  service,  in  choir  and  congre- 
gation, was  most  impressive.  All  were  furnished  with 
books,  and  all  appeared  to  join  in  swelling  the  volume  of 
praise  that  was  offered.  The  passage  of  Scripture  then  read 
was  taken  from  the  First  Epistle  of  Peter,  iv.  7-19,  with 
chapter  v.  i-i  i.     The  following  hymn  was  then  sung  : 

"  Saviour  !  I  follow  on 

Guided  by  Thee, 
Seeing  not  yet  the  hand 

That  leadeth  me; 
Hushed  be  my  heart  and  still. 
Fear  I  no  further  ill, 
Only  to  meet  Thy  will 

My  will  shall  be. 

"  Riven  the  rock  for  me 

Thirst  to  relieve. 
Manna  from  heaven  falls 

Fresh  every  eve  ; 
Never  a  want  severe 
Causeth  my  eye  a  tear. 
But  Thou  dost  whisper  near, 

'  Only  believe  ! ' 

"  Often  to  Marah's  brink 
Have  I  been  brought; 


94  History  of  the 

Shrinking  the  cup  to  drink, 

Help  I  have  sought ; 
And  with  the  prayer's  ascent, 
Jesus  the  branch  hath  rent. 
Quickly  relief  hath  sent, 
Sweetening  the  draught. 

"  Saviour !  I  long  to  walk 
Closer  with  Thee ; 
,  Led  by  Thy  guiding  hand. 

Ever  to  be ; 
Constantly  near  Thy  side. 
Quickened  and  purified. 
Living  for  Him  who  died 
Freely  for  me  !  " 

The  sermon  which  follows  was  then  delivered. 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  95 


SERMON   V. 

"Finally,  my  brethren,  be  strong  in  the  Lord,  and  in  the  power  of  His  might. 
Put  on  the  whole  armor  of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  stand  against  the  wiles  of 
the  devil.  For  we  wrestle  not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but  2igainst  principalities, 
against  powers,  against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world,  against  spiritual 
wickedness  in  high  places.  Wherefore  take  unto  you  the  whole  armor  of  God,  that 
ye  may  be  able  to  withstand  in  the  evil  day,  and  having  done  all,  to  stand.  Stand, 
therefore,  having  your  loins  girt  about  with  truth,  and  having  on  the  breastplate  of 
righteousness  ;  and  your  feet  shod  with  the  preparation  of  the  gospel  of  peace  ;  above 
all,  taking  the  shield  of  faith,  wherewith  ye  shall  be  able  to  quench  all  the  fiery  darts 
of  the  wicked.  And  take  the  helmet  of  salvation,  and  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which 
is  the  word  of  God  :  praying  always  with  all  prayer  and  supplication  in  the  Spirit, 
and  watching  thereunto  with  all  perseverance  and  supplication  for  all  saints  ;  and  for 
me,  that  utterance  may  be  given  unto  me,  that  I  may  open  my  mouth  boldly,  to  make 
known  the  mystery  of  the  Gospel,  for  which  I  am  an  ambassador  in  bonds :  that 
therein  I  may  speak  boldly,  as  I  ought  to  speak.  But  that  ye  also  may  know  my 
affairs,  and  how  I  do,  Tychicus,  a  beloved  brother  and  faithful  minister  in  the  Lord, 
shall  make  known  to  you  all  things  ;  whom  I  have  sent  unto  you  for  the  same  pur- 
pose, that  ye  might  know  our  affairs,  and  that  he  might  comfort  your  hearts.  Peace 
be  to  the  brethren,  and  love  with  faith,  from  God  the  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  Grace  be  with  all  them  that  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity.  Amen." 
— Ephesians  vi.  10-24. 

So  the  apostle  Paul  closes  his  epistle  to  that  noble  church 
of  Ephesus.  It  was  a  church  which  had  been  founded  mainly 
by  his  own  labors.  He  had  seen  there  strange  occurrences — 
like  that  wild  mob  which  had  gathered  in  the  theatre  crying 
out  against  Paul  and  the  Gospel  of  Christ  because  by  the 
influence  of  these  their  idolatrous  trade  was  undermining. 
"  A  great  and  effectual  door  was  there  opened  to  him,  but 
there  were  many  adversaries  "  (i  Cor.  xvi.  9).  He  had  met 
with  unscrupulous  men  therewith  whom  he  had  to  contend, 
and  at  whom  he  may  possibly  have  glanced,  when  he  say's, 
"  I  have  fought  with  wild  beasts  at  Ephesus."  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  he  had  met  with  great  successes ;  as  you  see 
shining  out,  for  example,  in  that  blazing  fire,  which  burns 
up  in  the  streets  of  Ephesus  those  books  of  magic  of  great 
value,  kindled  by  converts  to  the  truth.     It  was  a  church  of 


g6  History  of  the 

high  spiritual  gifts,  as  the  tenor  of  this  very  Epistle  testi- 
fies ;  and  of  great  graces,  too,  as  you  see  by  our  Lord's  own 
commendation  of  the  church  in  the  book  of  Revelation. 

The  apostle  had  long  before  (for  this  Epistle  was  most 
probably  written  from  Rome)  met  with  the  Elders  of  that 
church  at  Miletus  (as  you  find  in  the  20th  chapter  of  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles),  and,  in  taking  farewell  of  them,  had  given 
vent  to  that  earnest  and  devout  review  and  appeal  to  them 
which  is  there  recorded.  The  words  of  our  text  seem  al- 
most an  echo  of  that  same  fervent  appeal.  How  he  even 
then  remembered  his  long  and  arduous  labors  among  them ! 
How  well  he  knew  their  great  gifts !  But  he  sees  also  their 
dangers.  He  foresaw  they  would  be  assailed,  through  the 
craft  of  men,  even  from  among  themselves,  who  would  de- 
part from  the  faith.  And  so  in  one  breath  he  warns  them, 
he  exhorts  them,  and  he  consoles  them.  And  then  he  kneels 
down  and  prays  with  them,  commending  them  and  their  fu- 
ture to  God.  In  the  midst  of  all  his  fears  and  hopes,  he 
sees  two  great  sources  of  protection  and  guidance  and  com- 
fort to  them — God  and  His  word  of  grace :  "  I  commend  you 
to  God  and  to  the  word  of  His  grace,  which  is  able  to  build 
you  up,  and  to  give  you  inheritance  among  them  that  are 
sanctified."  He  paints  them  to  these  as  their  strongholds, 
and  then  he  warns  them  to  be  faithful. 

So  you  see  here,  also,  in  the  closing  words  of  this  letter, 
how  he  takes  his  farewell  of  them, — this  letter,  written  most 
probably  long,  long  afterward ;  written  in  Rome's  prison- 
house,  and  when  Paul  was  an  "ambassador  of  Christ  in 
chains  "  (vi.  20).  You  see  here  how  his  heart  is  full  of  the 
same  thoughts.  He  warns  them  earnestly  of  theif  foes  and 
their  dangers  and  their  helps.  He  warns  them  that  in  this 
present  world  there  is  conflict  to  the  end  ;  and  that,  too,  not 
with  merely  human  enemies,  such  as  might  and  would  in- 
deed bind  or  slay  or  otherwise  trouble  them ;  but  that  be- 
hind all  these  and  other  hindrances,  there  is  a  domain  of 
wicked  and  mighty  spirits — "spiritual  wickedness  in  high 
places  " — who  in  all  ways  are  seeking  to  devour  God's  flock. 


First  Presbyterian  Chiireh  of  Jersey  City.  97 

And  then,  as  if  still  echoing  his  words  at  Miletus,  he  points 
them  to  their  Helpers.  First,  and  highest  of  all,  Jesus,  the 
Lord  himself ;  "  Be  strong  in  the  Lord  and  in  the  power  of 
His  might."  "  He  is  with  you  and  is  mightier  than  all  that 
are  against  you."  And  then,  secondly.  His  everlasting  Word 
— "  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,"  which  is  the  tvordof  God.  This 
word  of  truth — believed  in,  obeyed,  followed  ;  this  it  is,  that, 
received  in  faith,  clothes  God's  children  from  head  to  foot 
in  the  whole  armor  of  God,  and  they  become  able  to  stand 
in  the  evil  day.  Take  to  you  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which 
is  the  Word  of  God.  Be  girded  about  the  loins,  and  thus 
braced  for  the  contest  by  His  everlasting  truth.  Take  for  a 
breastplate  that  spotless  righteousness  which  that  Word 
alone  reveals,  and  which  is  of  God  alone,  and  in  which  not 
one  jot  of  human  merit  appears ;  as  a  firm  casing  for  the 
feet,  so  that  they  may  stand  steady  without  slipping  in  the 
hour  of  sore  battle,  take  the  firm  belief  in  that  Word's  good 
news  of  perfect  peace  from  God  reconciled  to  the  soul  by  the 
blood  of  the  cross  and  freely  given  of  God  to  the  sinner  in 
Christ  Jesus  ;  as  a  shield  to  beat  off  all  the  fiery  darts  of  the 
enemy,  take  that  firm  faith  in  the  mighty  Lord  of  grace  and 
glory,  who  is  proclaimed  in  the  Word  as  with  us  and  for  us ; 
and  as  a  helmet  to  protect  the  head  from  every  blow  of  the 
enemy,  take  that  perfected  salvation, — which  needs  no  human 
addition,  which  meets  every  spiritual  necessity  of  the  soul, 
provides  for  every  defect,  assures  a  perfect  triumph  to  the 
believer,  glorifies  God,  exalts  both  His  justice  and  His  mer- 
cy together,  exhibits  all  His  infinite  attributes  in  harmony, 
and  bestows  on  the  redeemed  soul  a  glory  that  is  unspeak- 
able and  forever.  So  he  bids  them  stand  strong  in  the  Lord 
Christ  and  strong  in  His  word — to  stand  day  by  day  in 
communion  with  their  eternal  Lord  in  "  all  prayer  and  sup- 
plication." This  ensures  peace,  progress,  protection,  and 
victory. 

And  then,  just  as  if  they  heard  again  the  affectionate 
tones  uttered  at  IHiletus,  and  which  open  his  very  heart  to 
them,  you  see  how  he  reckons  upon  their  continued  sym- 
7 


98  History  of  the 

pathy  for  him  and  his  work  for  Christ,  although  they  are  to 
see  him  no  more :  "  Pray  for  me  also,  that  utterance  may  be 
given  unto  me  that  I  may  open  my  mouth  boldly,  to  make 
known  the  mystery  of  the  Gospel,  for  which  I  am  an  am- 
bassador in  bonds,  that  therein  I  may  speak  boldly  as  I 
ought  to  speak."  See  how  he  recognizes  the  bond  of  union 
between  them,  though  far  separated  from  each  other — he 
in  Rome's  prison-house,  they  in  Ephesus, — sure  of  their 
abiding  interest  in  all  that  affects  him,  as  he  is  full  of  inter- 
est in  all  that  affects  them  whom  he  has  so  long  known  in 
the  Gospel :  "  That  ye  also  may  know  my  affairs,  and  how  I 
do,  Tychicus,  a  beloved  brother  and  faithful  minister  in  the 
Lord,  shall  make  known  to  you  all  things :  whom  I  have 
sent  unto  you  for  the  same  purpose,  that  ye  might  know 
our  affairs,  and  that  he  might  comfort  your  hearts."  And 
then,  at  last,  just  as  he  had  knelt  down  on  the  sandy  beach, 
among  those  affectionate,  weeping  souls  at  Miletus,  and 
prayed  for  them,  so  he  prays  for  them  now,  commending 
them  and  theirs  to  God.  "  Peace  be  to  the  brethren,  and 
love  with  faith  from  God  the  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ ":  Until  his  yearning  heart  reaches  out,  in  its  un- 
bounded love  to  the  whole  company  there  and  everywhere 
of  those  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus  ;  and  his  expanding  soul 
prays  for  them  all :  "  Grace  be  with  all  them  that  love  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity.     Amen." 

It  is  with  this  same  tender  remembrance  of  his  congrega- 
tion in  the  Lord,  and  of  his  protracted  labors  among  them, 
that  any  long-settled  pastor  must  part  from  the  people  fed 
by  him  in  the  name  of  the  Chief  Shepherd,  the  Lord  Christ. 
He  will  rejoice  over  the  fruits  among  them  in  the  converts 
brought  to  Christ,  and  in  the  souls  nourished  by  the  word 
of  God ;  "  his  hope,  his  joy,  his  crown  of  glorying  in  the 
day  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  He  will  give  thanks  for  all  the 
graces  exhibited  by  them,  "  knowing  no  greater  joy  than  to 
see  his  children  walking  in  the  truth."  He  will  look  for- 
ward to  the  blessedness  of  the  meeting  in  that  day  when  all 
that  believe  shall  be  gathered  into  the  Lord's  presence.    He 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  99 

will  fervently  and  believingly  plead  in  their  behalf  with 
God  the  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  the  abiding 
peace  and  faith  and  love  which  are  from  God  may  rest  in 
their  souls  and  in  his  own,  as  the  common  heritage  and  bond 
which  binds  them  and  him  first  to  God  and  His  Christ,  and 
then  to  each  other ;  that  holy  bond  which  is  never  broken 
by  any  distance  or  any  earthly  changes  however  sudden  or 
sad.  And  he  will,  as  a  closing  word  of  exhortation  (for  he 
cannot  help  doing  it,  nor  fail  to  teach  them  to  do  it),  look 
out  with  smiles  of  joyful  recognition,  beyond  their  own  cir- 
cle, to  the  great  company  where  are  seen  "  all  who  love  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity,"  and  who,  in  their  different 
assemblies,  and  lands  and  nations,  are  walking  together,  as 
one  people  separated  from  the  world,  toward  the  same 
heavenly  rest — toward  the  bridal-day  of  the  Lord  Christ 
(Rev.  xix.  7). 

Yet,  at  the  same  time,  he  will  not  be  insensible  to  the 
dangers  which  lurk  by  the  way  for  his  flock  in  this  present 
evil  world  ;  nor  will  he  fail  to  stir  them  up,  in  his  parting 
words  to  "  hold  fast  the  beginning  of  their  confidence  in 
Christ  firm  unto  the  end,"  "  to  keep  firmly  that  which  they 
have  received,  that  none  whatever — the  world,  the  flesh,  or 
the  devil — none  in  earth  or  hell — that  iiotie  take  their  crown." 

And  as  his  consolation  in  the  view  of  their  perils,  what 
can  he  do  but  point  them — as  the  apostle  does  his  Christian 
flock  at  Ephesus — to  their  great  strongholds :  the  arm  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  as  their  strength,  and  the  Lord's  ever-living 
word  as  their  abiding  light.  Yes!  my  people,  to  the  LORD 
Christ  will  he  point  them  ;  for  He  is  able  and  He  alone  is 
"  able  to  keep  us  from  falling,  yea,  and  to  present  every  one 
of  us,  at  length,  before  the  presence  of  His  glory  with  ex- 
ceeding joy."  Blessed  !  blessed !  thrice  blessed  are  they 
whom  He  keeps.  Blessed !  blessed !  thrice  blessed  are 
they :  for  He  that  has  begun  a  good  work  in  them  will  pre- 
serve it,  and  crown  it  in  the  day  of  His  glory.  So  may  He 
sanctify ^'o?<  "wholly  in  body,  soul,  and  spirit,  and  preserve 
you  blameless  unto  the  day  of  His  coming." 


lOO  History  of  the 

And  to  His  word  of  truth,  too,  will  he  point  them— so 
able,  as  it  is,  to  save  the  soul ;  through  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost : 

1st.  Because  it  so  clearly  reveals,  in  all  His  beauty  and 
glory  and  grace,  the  Lord  himself,  "  whom  to  know  is  life 
eternal ";  whom  to  look  at  in  the  word,  as  in  a  glass,  is  to 
have  one's  own  face  and  whole  person  changed  into  the  same 
"  image  from  glory  to  glory,  as  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God." 

2d.  Next,  because  that  Word  portrays  so  completely  our 
own  poor  selves;  so  weak,  so  helpless,  so  sinful,  so  justly 
condemned,  so  easily  carried  away  by  temptation ;  in  a 
word,  so  destitute  in  ourselves  of  all  that  is  good  before 
God ;  and  yet,  when  in  Him,  delivered,  accepted,  renewed 
— the  habitation  of  God's  Spirit — strong  to  live  for  Him 
who  died  for  us,  able  "  to  do  all  things  through  the  in- 
dwelling Christ  who  strengthens  us."  That  Word  of  God 
which  flatters  no  one — that  searching  Word  of  God  which 
abases  every  man's  pride.  It  never  beguiles  us.  It  exalts 
the  Lord  alone,  and  gives  glory  to  Hijn,  and  brings  glory  to 
us  only  through  Him  and  our  union  to  Him  by  faith. 

3d.  Next,  because  that  Word  is  itself  divine ;  "  the  word 
of  the  living  God,  which  endureth  forever."  Its  promises 
are  divine.  The  way  from  sin  and  hell  to  glory,  which  it 
alone,  of  the  religions  in  the  world,  reveals,  is  divine.  Its 
assurances  are  God's  assurances.  Its  warnings  and  its  hopes 
are  of  God.  The  weapons  which  it  supplies  are  from  God's 
own  armory ;  swords  that  never  break — simple  slings,  that 
will  smite  to  the  dust  even  the  proud,  mighty  giants  of  de- 
fying error  and  corruption — shields  that  cannot  be  pierced. 
And  when  we  receive  it  truly,  we  receive  it,  as  the  apostle 
says,  "  not  as  the  word  of  man,  but  as  it  is  in  truth,  the  word 
of  the  living  God,  which  effectually  worketh  in  you  that  be- 
lieve" (i  Thess.  ii.  13). 

4th.  And  lastly,  because  that  Word  is  therefore  invested 
with  the  power  of  God.  The  Lord,  the  Holy  Ghost,  speaks 
in  it  and  through  it.  His  power  animates  the  word  of  His 
grace,  hence  it  is  called  the  life-giving  word.     It  has  power 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  loi 

to  slay.  As  Luther  says  :  "  The  Gospel  which  the  Lord  has 
put  into  the  mouth  of  His  apostles  is  His  sword  wherewith 
He  smites  as  with  thunder  and  lightning."  And  so  it  has 
power  to  revive  to  a  new  life.  It  has  power  to  pierce  to  the 
joints  and  marrow,  and  is  a  discerner  of  the  thoughts  and 
intents  of  the  heart ;  and  so  it  has  power  to  build  up  unto 
life  eternal,  for  it  holds  up  a  crucified  Christ  which  is  "the 
power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth,  to 
the  Jew  first  and  also  to  the  Greek"  (Rom.  i.  i6). 

These  two,  the  mighty  Lord  Christ  and  His  eternal  Word 
of  truth  !  They  stand  like  the  two  pillars  before  the  tem- 
ple of  Solomon — Jachin,  "  he  will  establish  ";  Boaz,  "  in 
strength."  They  stand  as  the  instruction,  the  joy,  the  help, 
the  eternal  hope  of  all  who,  with  opened  spiritual  eyes,  enter 
the  church  of  the  living  God.  Bind  these  two,  oh  !  my  be- 
loved people,  to  your  hearts  as  your  strong,  unfailing  de- 
fence, as  with  hooks  of  steel — God  and  His  word  of  grace. 

Thirty-six  years  ago  last  December  14th,  I  stood  for  the 
first  time  in  this  pulpit,  after  receiving  the  call  of  this  people 
to  be  their  pastor.  At  your  call  I  left  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Rahway,  New  Jersey,  where  for  eleven  years  I 
had  served  as  pastor  to  a  most  affectionate  and  beloved  peo- 
ple, and  was  installed  over  you  as  pastor  by  the  Presbytery 
of  New  York,  thirty-six  years  ago,  on  the  i  ith  of  last  Febru- 
ary. In  that  service  the  Rev.  Edward  E.  Rankin  presided ; 
prayer  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  Lewis  H.  Lee,  formerly  as- 
sociate pastor  with  Rev.  Mr.  Johnstone,  and  by  Rev.  Ravaud 
K.  Rodgers,  of  Bound  Brook ;  the  charge  to  the  pastor  was 
given  by  the  Rev.  Wm.  Bannard,  of  New  York,  and  the 
charge  to  the  people  by  the  Rev.  Frederick  G.  Clark,  of 
Astoria,  N.  Y.  All  these,  with  the  exception  of  Dr.  Ban- 
nard and  Dr.  Rankin,  are  now  gone  home,  most  of  them 
long  since  gone  home.  How  vividly  that  scene  is  before 
me  now.  I  undertook  this  charge,  I  must  confess,  with  some 
hesitancy,  and  for  a  few  years  these  doubts  continued  for 
reasons  upon  which  I  need  not  now  dwell.    But  upon  reflec- 


102  History  of  the 

tion  I  decided  to  remain  at  all  events  for  five  years.  When 
that  time  had  elapsed,  all  was  clear,  and  instead  of  staying 
five  years,  I  am,  after  thirty-six  years,  still  here  to-day.  Yes, 
I  am  still  here  to-day,  having  thought  it  best,  after  much 
consideration,  as  they  severally  occurred,  to  decline  three 
different  offers  for  my  removal  elsewhere,  among  which  were 
two  calls  to  churches  in  other  cities,  urged  upon  me  with 
much  importunity.  I  mention  all  this  to  show  how  greatly 
I  esteemed  the  people  of  this  charge. 

I  have  so  fully,  on  another  occasion,  entered  into  the  his- 
tory of  this  church,  that  I  will  say  but  little  of  it  now.  A 
very  few  facts  must  suffice.  This  building  stood  in  Wall 
Street,  New  York,  for  thirty-three  years ;  to  see,  in  that  time, 
a  change  from  being  in  a  locality  with  a  large  surrounding 
population,  to  a  place  filled  up  with  the  appliances  of  busi- 
ness. It  has  now  stood  forty-three  years  in  Jersey  City,  and 
has  witnessed  the  same  change  over  again.  When  I  came 
among  you  the  population  of  Jersey  City  was  considerably 
under  thirteen  thousand,  and  the  population  was  almost  all 
within  this  vicinity  and  that  of  Ahasimus.  Grand  Street 
^yas  still  unpaved,  and  was  even  in  hillocks  on  the  sidewalk. 
Very  few  houses  were  beyond  the  east  side  of  Warren  Street 
until  you  came  to  Grove  Street.  Besides  this  church  there 
was  St.  Matthew's  Episcopal  Church,  with  its  first  rector. 
Rev.  Dr.  Barry,  still  living,  though  very  near  his  decease, 
which  occurred  within  a  few  weeks.  The  Rev.  Jas.  Bowden 
was  the  rector  in  charge.  There  was  also  the  First  Reformed 
(Dutch)  Church  in  Grand  Street  with  its  former  pastor,  the 
Rev.  Matthias  Lusk,  then  recently  dismissed.  It  was  still 
mourning  the  sudden  decease  of  his  successor,  the  Rev.  Jno. 
A.  Yates,  D.D.,  who  had  been  called  but  not  yet  installed, 
and  who  had  been  followed  by  the  short  pastorate  of  the 
Rev.  David  Lord.  And  the  pulpit  was  then  vacant,  the 
Rev.  Alexander  W.  McClure  entering  on  his  pastorate  a  few 
weeks  later.  The  Rev.  P.  D.  Van  Cleef  had  been  pastor  for 
two  years  in  the  Second  Reformed  Church  in  Wayne  Street, 
in  a  building  which  was  burned  that  winter,  and  replaced  by 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  103 

the  present  structure.  The  First  Baptist  Church  (or  Union 
Baptist  Church)  was  in  Grove  Street,  with  the  Rev.  William 
Verrinder  (afterward,  for  so  many  years,  our  admirable  city 
missionary),  as  its  pastor.  Trinity  Methodist  Church  was  in 
York  Street,  and  St.  Paul's  M.  E.  Church  in  Third  Street 
had  just  begun  its  history,  and  the  building  was  standing 
almost  alone,  with  the  ground  about  it  still  unlevelled.  The 
Roman  Catholics  occupied,  as  their  church,  the  building 
opposite  the  First  Reformed  Church,  now  known  as  St. 
Aloysius'  Academy.  The  Second  Presbyterian  and  the  Park 
Reformed  Churches  were  in  their  earliest  incipiency,  and 
were  organized  some  time  afterward.  On  the  Heights  (then 
Bergen),  the  old  Reformed  DutcTi  Church,  with  its  pastor. 
Rev.  Benjamin  C.  Taylor,  D.D.,  and  its  new  stone  building 
recently  completed,  stood  alone.  All  the  churches,  of  every 
name,  which  have  appeared  in  that  region,  have  come  into 
existence  long  since.  Lafayette  was  then,  and  for  years 
afterward,  a  salt  meadow.  Of  the  settled  pastors  at  that  time, 
none  but  the  Rev.  P.  D.  Van  Cleef,  D.D.,  and  the  Rev.  Will- 
iam Verrinder,  now  survive. 

This  church  had  enjoyed  the  services  of  three  pastor^ — 
the  Rev.  John  Johnstone,  and  the  Rev.  Lewis  H.  Lee  as 
associate  pastor,  and  after  these  the  Rev.  David  King. 
These  are  all  long  since^gone  to  rest.  And  so,  too,  is  the 
Rev.  James  Vernon  Henry  (father  of  our  Deacon  Jas.  R. 
Henry),  who  ministered  at  times  to  this  people  as  stated 
supply.  And  so,  too  (I  may  here  add),  are  many  of  those 
who  were  especially  active  in  securing  the  organization  of 
this  church,  and  the  removal  of  this  building  from  its  old 
site  in  New  York  to  its  present  position.  In  particular,  I 
must  not  fail  to  mention  three  of  these — the  late  David 
Henderson,  whose  tablet  is  'on  the  wall,  and  who  died,  as 
you  know,  by  accident  very  soon  after  this  building  was 
dedicated  in  1845,  and  Dudley  S.  Gregory,  who  was  re- 
moved by  death  more  than  ten  years  ago.  It  was  chiefly 
by  the  energy  and  liberality  of  these  two  gentlemen  that 
the   purchase  and  transfer  of   this  building  was  effected. 


104  History  of  the 

The  third  was  the  late  Andrew  Clerk,  Esq.,  the  skilful  and 
liberal  architect,  to  whose  supervision  the  transportation 
and  erection  of  the  building  was  entrusted,  and  who  left  us, 
as  you  remember,  after  long  residence  here,  a  little  more 
than  a  year  ago,  to  enter  that  heavenly  mansion  not  made 
with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens.  Besides  the  departed 
ministers  of  Christ  already  named,  this  church  had  been 
served  by  the  Rev.  Wilson  Phraner,  long  afterward  pastor 
in  Sing  Sing,  N.  Y.,  and  now  honorably  retired  from  the 
pastorate,  and  the  Rev.  William  W.  Eddy,  since  then  mis- 
sionary in  Syri^.  These  were  at  that  time  young  men  just 
closing  their  studies  at  the  Theological  Seminary,  and 
preached  here  for  a  time' as  stated  supplies.  These  both 
still  live. 

Of  the  Ruling  Elders,  among  those  who  were  chosen  at  the 
church  organization,  Luther  T.  Stowell,  L.  D.  Hardenburgh, 
and  Ellis  F.  Ayers,  the  last  of  whom  had  also  been  elected 
Deacon,  had  all  removed.  The  four  Elders  whom  I  found 
here,  Oliver  S.  Strong  (elected  at  the  organization),  Justus 
Slater,  Thomas  H.  Shafer,  and  James  S.  Davenport,  are  all 
gone  to  their  reward.  And  so  also  are  Wm.  R.  Janeway, 
Wm.  H.  Talcott,  H.  S.  Allen,  and  Nathaniel  C.  Jaquith,  who 
followed  them.  Elders  Edwin  Wygant,  Titus  B.  Meigs,  D. 
M.  Stiger,  Henry  W.  Buxton,  and  Wm.  Ewan,  still  live,* 
but  have  removed  to  other  places.  Bennington  F.  Randolph 
and  Flavel  McGee  alone  yet  remain  with  us.  The  first 
elected  deacon,  Ellis  F.  Ayers,  had  gone  from  the  city,  and 
two  others  associated  with  him,  Joseph  Bonnell  and  Ab. 
Hoagland,  soon  followed  him.  The  only  remaining  deacon 
whom  I  found  here  was  Edwin  Wygant.  Following  him  were 
Nathaniel  C.  Jaquith,  Erwin  R.  Crane,  Henry  W.  Buxton, 
Jas.  R.  Henry,  Chas.  H.  Jaquith,  and  Joseph  F.  Randolph, 
Jr.,  several  of  whom  afterward  became  Elders.  These  all, 
with  the  exception  of  N.  C.  Jaquith,  still  live,  but  have  all 

*  Mr.  Wygant  deceased  a  few  months  later — an  Elder  at  the  time 
in  Spring  Street  Presbyterian  Church,  New  York. 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  105 

removed  to  other  cities,  except  James  R.  Henry,  who,  as 
our  Deacon,  still  remains  with  us. 

Time  will  not  allow  me  to  mention  even  by  name  the  long 
array  of  Trustees,*  who,  before  and  during  these  thirty-six 
years  and  down  to  the  present  time,  have  administered  the 
temporal  affairs  of  this  church  so  wisely  and  efficiently,  and 
by  whose  energy  the  finances  have  been  kept  in  a  sound  con- 
dition ;  by  whose  wise  zeal  on  several  occasions,  particularly 
during  the  last  twenty-five  years,  the  heavy  debt,  which  en- 
cumbered the  church  when  I  came  here,  was  entirely  removed ; 
the  liability  to  a  ground-rent,  which  had  long  continued,  was 
cancelled  ;  the  reversionary  clauses  of  the  original  deed  with- 
drawn by  the  liberality  of  the  heirs  of  Messrs.  Henderson  and 
Gregory,  and  the  whole  church  property  brought  entirely  into 
the  possession  of  the  congregation  ;  and  lastly  (though  not 
least),  by  whose  fidelity  and  perseverance,  during  the  last  six 
or  eight  years  of  pressure,  the  liabilities  of  the  church  have 
always  been  promptly  met,  and  the  congregation  continued 
from  year  to  year  entirely  free  from  all  debt.  They  who  build 
the  house  of  God,  and  they  who  keep  and  cleanse  the  sanc- 
tuary, are  not  forgotten  of  the  Lord  any  more  than  they 
who  minister  within  at  its  holy  services. 

Nor  can  I  stop  either  to  set  before  you  the  well-remem- 
bered and  beloved  faces  of  the  many  Sabbath-school  super- 
intendents, and  teachers  and  officers  too,  who  have  trained 
in  Christian  truth  the  children  of  the  congregation,  and 
these  children's  children  after  them,  down  to  the  present 
faithful  band  of  helpers  who  still  so  successfully  prosecute 
the  work.f  Nor  can  I  speak  by  name  of  the  noble  women, 
who,  in  the  Mite  Society  and  in  the  Missionary  Society, 
have  for  so  many  years  steadily  and  most  efficiently  done 
their  part  in  enabling  this  church  of  Christ  fully  to  perform 
its  work.     And  as  I  look  at  that  place  of  the  choir  yonder, 

*  See  the  list  of  names  at  the  end  of  this  volume. 
t  See  history  of  the  Sabbath-school,  by  James  R.  Henry,  at  the 
close  of  this  volume. 


io6  History  of  the 

how  many  familiar  faces  of  young  men  and  of  young  wom- 
en, and  more  lately  of  children  too,  whose  sweet  voices  in 
harmony  have  led  our  devotions  or  who  have  skilfully  han- 
dled the  organ  in  God's  praises,  come  up  before  me ! — many 
of  them  still  living,  but  some  gone  where  the  music  far  ex- 
cels all  the  music  of  earth. 

In  my  pastorate  here  it  has  been  my  endeavor,  as  a  main 
object,  to  lead  you,  my  people,  to  an  accurate  knowledge 
of  the  Word  of  God.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  I  have  gone 
over  connectedly,  after  the  good  old  plan,  so  many  of  the 
books  of  the  Bible  in  courses  of  lecturing,  both  on  the  Sab- 
bath and  at  the  weekly  service.  Besides  this,  I  have  aimed 
to  set  forth  prominently  the  great  fundamental  truths  of 
God's  way  of  salvation,  to  put  clearly  before  you  the  be- 
ing and  character  of  God,  the  person  and  work  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  characteristics 
of  a  true  believer  in  Him.  I  have  endeavored  to  teach  and 
warn  and  exhort  all  classes,  young  and  older,  trying  not  to 
hide  anything  that  I  believed  God's  Word  taught,  and  which 
was  at  the  time  profitable  for  you  to  hear.  I  have  sought 
earnestly  to  show  you,  too,  that  all  of  God's  Word  is  of  ser- 
vice, and  not  merely  such  parts  as  some  people  often  think 
to  be  so ;  and  who  hence  call  such  parts  practical,  simply 
because  such  parts  have  reference  to  ourselves,  or  our  own 
times  or  our  present  condition.  Hence  I  have  set  before 
you  God's  purposes  toward  His  Church  in  the  future,  which 
are  so  constantly  presented  in  the  Scripture  as  a  power  to 
lift  us  up  above  this  present  world,  and  to  gird  us  with 
spiritual  strength  and  to  sanctify.  And  therefore  I  have 
taught  you  not  only  concerning  the  person  and  work  of  our 
Lord,  but  of  His  coming  again  and  of  His  kingdom ;  the 
certainty  of  His  kingdom  which  is  to  be  established  on  this 
earth  renewed;  the  future  redemption  and  return, of  Israel 
and  Israel's  position  in  the  earth  ;  and,  in  general,  of  God's 
designs  toward  that  people  as  set  forth  in  the  Scripture,  and 
through  them  to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  And  I  have 
endeavored  to  impress  upon  you  the  high  and  holy  calling 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  107 

of  the  Christian  CHURCH  as  a  separated  people,  chosen  out 
of  the  world,  set  apart  to  a  singular  service,  and  appointed 
to  a  singularly  glorious  destiny — the  glorified  bride  of  God's 
dear  Son — the  fullness,  or  completion  of  Christ,  to  "sit 
with  Him  on  His  throne,  as  He  also  overcame  and  is  seated 
with  the  Father  upon  His  throne." 

As  one  looks  back  over  a  pastorate  of  thirty-six  years,  given 
into  his  hands  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  alone  makes  pastors 
overseers  of  the  flock  of  God,  none  can  tell,  so  well  as  he 
can  tell  himself,  his  failings ;  or  know  as  he  knows  the  deep 
humiliation  which  fills  his  soul,  in  the  clear  sight  which  he 
has  (notwithstanding  his  consciousness  of  sincerity  and  in- 
tegrity) of  his  weakness  of  endeavor,  of  his  failures,  of  his 
probable  mistakes,  of  his  misuse  or  feeble  use  of  opportu- 
nities, of  his  poor  attainments,  and  of  the  poverty  of  the 
apparent  fruits  of  his  labors  compared  with  what  he  feels 
they  might  have  been.  None  can  estimate  him  to  be  less 
than  he  judges  himself  to  be.  And  it  is  the  uplifting  joy 
of  the  pastor's  heart  that  he  serves  a  Master  so  considerate, 
so  ready  to  judge  things  with  tender  forbearance,  and  whose 
rewards  will  outreach  all  the  hopes  of  his  people.  • 

At  the  same  time  he  is  bound  to  say  that,  in  the  midst  of 
all  this,  he  is  conscious  of  having  sought  to  know  and  to  do 
God's  will  among  you  ;  and  that  his  prayer  for  every  one  of 
you  all  has  continually  been  that  the  Lord  might  save  you 
and  make  you  "perfect  and  complete  in  all  the  will  of  God, 
and  preserve  you  unto  His  heavenly  glory."  It  is  all  gone 
by  now — the  teachings,  the  exhortations,  the  warnings,  the 
encouragements,  the  prayers,  the  wrestlings,  the  tears — 
gone  to  meet  us  in  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  the  re- 
sults fully  known  only  to  Him.  May  "  His  mercy  be  meted 
out  to  us,  both  pastor  and  people,  in  that  day ! " 

When  I  came  here  there  were  on  the  communion-roll 
233  names,  of  which  there  were  then  on  the  ground  142 ; 
of  these  only  three  are  now  here,  and  the  abodes  of  eleven 
others  are  unknown.  Since  my  coming  the  number  enrolled 
has  risen  to  900,  or  nearly  700  additional  names,  an  average 


io8  ■  History  of  the 

of  close  upon  twenty  year  by  year.  Of  these  between  one- 
third  and  one-half  have  been  added  upon  confession  of  their 
faith.  There  have  been  seasons,  of  course,  when  many 
more  have  been  added  than  at  other  times.  And  during 
the  last  ten  years  the  fruits,  owing  to  our  present  circum- 
stances, have  been  much  less  than  in  previous  times.  But 
the  above  is  the  average  for  the  whole  period.  How  many 
of  these  have  left  us  to  go  up  higher!  And  how  many,  still 
well  remembered  and  well  beloved,  have  gone  out  from 
us  to  become  diligent  workers  for  the  Lord  in  other  fields, 
and  whom  we  still  carry  upon  our  hearts  in  prayer  that  they 
may  be  perfected  in  holiness  and  "  kept  by  the  power  of 
God  through  faith  unto  the  salvation  ready  to  be  revealed 
in  the  last  fime."  As  I  look  back  over  that  roll,  with  what 
tender  and  varied  remembrances  is  this  holy  place  asso- 
ciated. Here  have  I  seen  many  among  you  led  to  the  Lord. 
Here  have  I  seen  your  children,  too,  openly  profess  Christ. 
Here  have  I  seen  my  own  children  and  children's  children 
brought  to  the  Lord's  table.  How  have  I  rejoiced  here 
over  every  hearty  movement  in  carrying  on  Christ's  work  in 
tfie  congregation,  or  for  the  help  of  the  Lord's  cause  at 
home  or  abroad !  What  joy  have  I  had  in  every  soul  that 
has  been  earnest  in  the  Lord's  service !  And  so,  too,  how 
has  my  heart  known  its  own  bitterness  by  the  backwardness 
or  the  coldness  or  the  decline  of  any  who  have  professed 
the  name  of  Christ,  and  by  those  who  have  been  insensible 
to  all  appeals  and  have  never  openly  acknowledged  their 
fealty  to  Him.  As  a  matter  of  fact  it  is  a  cheering  thought 
that  during  this  long  course  of  years  we  have  had  very  few 
cases  indeed  of  serious  discipline  by  the  Session.  So  far  as 
we  know,  by  far  the  larger  part  have  walked  becomingly 
and  many  heartily  for  the  Lord.  The  Lord  himself  clear 
and  cleanse  us  all,  pastor  and  people,  and  forgive  and  own 
us  according  to  that  infinite  love  of  His  which  is  perfect  and 
divine. 

During  these  long  years  I  have  publicly  spoken  to  you  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  very  much  more  than  5,000  times,  with- 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  109 

out  including  more  than  1,000  addresses  at  prayer-meetings, 
or  other  relig'ious  gatherings,  or  the  hundreds  of  funeral  ad- 
dresses. At  the  Lord's  table,  where  we  have  often  known 
such  precious  influences,  we  have  sat  together  as  a  church 
nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  times.  I  have  baptized  478 
persons,  of  which  just  50  were  adults,  baptized  on  profes- 
sion of  their  faith.  I  have  solemnized  during  my  residence 
here  352  marriages;  in  some  cases  those  of  the  parents  and 
then  of  their  children  after  them.  I  have  attended  731 
funerals ;  while,  during  the  whole  of  my  ministry,  I  have  as- 
sisted in  putting  into  the  grave,  one  by  one,  considerably 
over  1,000  persons.  Do  you  wonder  that  to  an  old  minister 
life  seems  so  very  short? 

There  are  to-day,  notwithstanding  all  our  changes,  still 
on  the  ground  or  within  a  certain  proximity  (on  the  Heights, 
or  in  New  York  City),  121  communicants,  or  within  about 
a  score  of  the  number  who  were  on  the  ground  when  I  came 
to  this  church,  more  than  thirty-six  years  ago. 

And  now  we  must  separate  as  pastor  and  people.  A  week 
ago  last  Tuesday,  the  Presbytery  of  Jersey  City,  in  reply  td 
my  proposal  and  your  acquiescence  in  the  same  under  the 
circumstances,  agreed  to  the  severance  of  the  bond  which 
has  so  long  bound  us  together. 

I  need  not  detail  at  length  the  reasons  which  have  led  to 
this  change.  For  years  both  you  and  I  have  been  looking 
forward  to  the  removal  of  this  congregation  to  other  quarters 
as  inevitable — the  result  of  causes  operating  in  all  our  large 
cities.  For  six  or  eight  years,  however,  when  I  have  spoken 
of  it,  you  have  found  that  you  were  not  able  to  see  where  to 
betake  yourselves  and  start  afresh,  and  you  were  not  ready 
to  take  the  step  of  separating  from  each  other  as  a  congre- 
gation and  seeking  other  church  homes.  Indeed  this  is 
even  now  one  of  the  sorest  parts  of  the  present  trial. 
Hence,  for  a  decade  past  we  have  continued  together,  hold- 
ing the  building  still.  And  you  have,  therefore,  very  liber- 
ally been  subscribing,  year  by  year,  in  advance,  what  was  fore- 


no    '  History  of  the 

seen  to  be  necessary  to  meet  the  following  year's  expenses. 
But  now  the  point  is  reached  where  you  are  persuaded  that 
it  is  hopeless  to  keep  on  in  our  present  quarters.  The  depart- 
ure of  one  family  after  another  to  other  cities  continues. 
And  also,  at  last,  the  building  itself  is  so  much  in  need  of 
repair  as  to  make  it  necessary  to  take  some  decisive  step — 
either  to  repair  it,  if  the  prospect  of  remaining  here  is  at  all 
hopeful,  or  to  sell  it  and  remove  elsewhere,  if  a  position  not 
now  occupied  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city  is  to  be  secured. 
After  much  consideration  by  all  concerned  you  have  decid- 
ed that  it  is  hopeless  to  remain  in  our  present  quarters. 
True  indeed  it  is,  that  there  are  still  in  communion  with 
this  church  178  persons.  But  of  these,  39  are  residing  out 
of  the  city;  31  have  gone  to  parts  unknown,  and  have  long 
been  thus  absent ;  and  6  have  withdrawn  to  other  commun- 
ions. Our  number  is  thus  much  reduced.  True  also  it 
is,  as  I  have  already  stated,  that  reckoning  name  by  name, 
there  are  still  actually  on  the  ground  and  within  a  reasonable 
distance  (although  some  of  these  only  very  rarely  attend), 
102  communicants.  And  there  are  19  more  residing  either 
on  the  Heights,  or  in  the  city  of  New  York,  who  occasion- 
ally come  to  our  services,  making  in  all  121  communicants. 
That  is  to  say,  that,  with  all  our  changes,  there  are,  as  al- 
ready stated,  still  accessible,  within  21  of  the  number  of 
those  who  were  on  the  ground  when  I  came  here  thirty-six 
years  ago.  But  then,  this  fact  is  accompanied  with  two 
great  differences  in  the  cases.  In  the  first  place,  there  was 
at  that  time  a  strong  tide  of  population  setting  in  upon  this 
city  who  were  in  the  habit  of  attending  church  ;  and  second- 
ly, these,  for  the  most  part,  settled  down  quite  near,  or  at 
any  rate  not  at  all  remote  from  this  centre.  At  present  all 
this  is  changed.  Our  former  communicants  are  leaving  the 
city  year  by  year,  although  we  do  gather  in  some  to  take 
their  places ;  and  besides,  those  who  come,  settle  most 
generally  in  homes  remote  from  this  locality.  It  is  true, 
also,  that  even  as  the  case  stands,  the  church  is  still  fully 
strong  enough  in  communicants  and  attendants  to  under- 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  1 1 1 

take  a  new  enterprise  and  life  in  some  other  and  hopeful 
quarter  of  the  city.  But,  as  is  well  known,  such  a  move- 
ment is  precluded  by  the  fact  that  there  is  no  such  place  on 
this  side  of  the  Heights  for  us  to  resort  to  now.  The  posi- 
tions within  the  limits  of  old  Jersey  City  which  we  once 
might  have  occupied  are  now  already  taken  ;  and  to  remove 
to  the  Heights  at  this  time  would  be  premature,  and  would 
also  carry  us  away  from  the  vicinity  of  those  who  now  at- 
tend our  services.  All  therefore  judge  it  best  to  do  as  we 
have  long  foreseen  must  eventually  be  done,  and  as  has 
now  been  agreed  upon.  It  is  a  comfort  that  the  flourishing 
Sabbath-school  is  to  be  continued.  Under  the  efificicnt  man- 
agement of  the  present  Superintendent  and  teachers,  sup- 
plemented, we  may  hope,  by  the  labor  of  others  living  in 
the  neighbornood,  it  may  possibly  grow  to  something  more. 
I  take  this  occasion  to  say,  that  in  all  this  long  pastorate 
I  have  met  with  constant  tokens  of  kindness  and  friendship 
and  respect  from  the  youngest  up  to  those  who  are  oldest. 
In  all  our  meetings  of  the  Session,  and  since  the  earlier  years 
of  my  ministry  here,  in  all  our  intercourse  with  the  Boards 
of  Trustees,  and  with  all  the  people  of  this  charge,  not  one 
root  of  bitterness  has  sprung  up  to  trouble  and  defile  us — - 
not  a  ripple  of  opposition  to  mar  our  harmony.  What  a 
cause  for  gratitude  is  this !  Let  us  give  thanks  for  it  to  God, 
who  rules  all  hearts.  And  we  close  to-day,  with,  so  far  as  I 
know,  the  heartiest  love  on  both  sides.  All  of  us  are  sorry 
for  this  change  in  our  relations,  and  also  for  our  necessary 
removal  from  this  our  old  habitation,  where  we  have  so 
long  worshipped  God  together,  and  sat  together  at  the 
Lord's  table.  At  the  same  time,  as  was  well  observed  by 
the  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  at  the  congrega- 
tional meeting  held  on  last  Wednesday  evening,  "  all  oi  us 
are  agreed  that  the  steps  now  taken  were  the  wisest  to  be 
taken."  It  is  so  thought  also  by  the  Presbytery.  It  is  so 
judged  by  the  friends  of  the  church,  far  and  near,  so  far  as 
I  have  heard,  however  much  thej^  may  regret  the  necessity 
for  the  change.     Your  own  action  in  all  this  matter  as  a 


112  History  of  tlie 

church  and  congregation,  and  your  past  history  as  a  church 
called  forth  warm  words  of  praise  in  the  recorded  resolu- 
tions of  the  Presbytery  as  you  heard  read  on  Wednesday 
evening  last.  As  to  your  thoughtful  and  generous  care  of 
myself  in  the  future,  this  also  deserves  and  has  received  from 
the  Presbytery  and  from  others  hearty  approval  and  com- 
mendation. And  as  to  my  being  now  largely  set  aside  by 
this  change  from  my  usual  work,  let  me  say  to  you  :  Do  not 
be  concerned  on  this  account.  It  is  true  that  by  God's  great 
kindness  I  am  still  in  good  health  and  active,  and  am  able 
to  perform  all  the  labors  of  the  pastorate.  But  in  my  seventy- 
fourth  year  I  could  not  expect  to  be,  nor  could  you  expect 
me  to  be,  for  any  long  time,  actively  useful.  So  that  you 
may  well  believe  that  we  have  continued  together,  so  far  as 
that  is  concerned,  as  long  as  was  suitable,  and  that  we  have 
agreed  to  the  sundering  of  the  tie  which  bound  us  together, 
only  when,  at  the  longest,  it  must,  in  the  course  of  nature, 
have  been  sundered  soOri.  It  is  a  gracious  providence  of 
God  which  enables  me  to  say  that  our  relation  to  each  other 
is  to  be  sundered  only  by  a  felt  necessity  and  with  a  mutual 
esteem  and  regret  on  both  sides.  As  to  my  future  oversight 
for  you  and  my  willingness  to  aid,  in  any  way  possible  to 
me,  your  spiritual  interests,  for  which  you  have  expressed 
your  desire  to  me  and  to  the  Presbytery,  and  to  further 
which  the  Presbytery,  at  your  request,  has  assigned  me  the 
position  of  Moderator  of  the  Session  of  the  church  ;  that  is 
a  matter  of  course,  I  need  not  dwell  upon  it.  As  Samuel 
said,  in  his  old  age,  to  Israel :  "God  forbid  that  I  should  sin 
against  the  Lord  in  ceasing  to  pray  for  you  ;  only  fear  the 
Lord  and  serve  Him  in' truth  with  all  your  heart."  For  all 
the  many  tokens  of  kindness  in  words  or  acts  which  I  or 
mine  have  received  from  you  who  are  here  or  from  those 
who  were  once  of  our  number  but  are  now  gone  elsewhere, 
I  return  my  hearty  thanks.  May  the  Lord  himself  repay 
you. 

The  Sabbath-school,  as  I  have  said,  is  to  be  continued, 
and  this  congregation  will,  I  doubt  not,  entertain  a  warm 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  113 

interest  in  its  success.  Our  hope  is  that  it  may,  in  some  way, 
lead,  in  the  nearer  or  more  remote  future,  to  a  church  with 
regular  services  in  some  part  of  the  city,  and  may  thus  pre- 
serve the  old  name  and  organization.  Our  Superintendent 
and  teachers  will  work,  as  far  as  possible,  toward  that  end. 

It  is  very  pleasant  to  state  that  our  old  friends,  the  Con- 
sistory of  the  First  Reformed  Church  in  Grand  Street,  have 
very  graciously  accorded  to  the  Sabbath-school  the  use  of 
their  building  when  tfiis  building  shall  have  been  sold.  And 
this  congregation,  on  Wednesday  evening  last,  authorized 
the  school  to  remove  and  use  our  lecture-room  furniture  for 
their  accommodation. 

As  another  act  of  Christian  kindness,  let  me  say,  that 
through  the  rector  of  St.  Matthew's  Episcopal  Church  (Rev. 
Mr.  Holbrook)  our  congregation  has  been  offered  the  free 
use  of  their  lecture-room  on  any  particular  occasion  when 
this  congregation  may  wish  to  hold  meetings,  upon  any 
evening  of  the  week  except  Wednesdays.  We  heartily 
acknowledge  these  graceful  acts  of  Christian  courtesy. 

And  now  all  is  closed.  As  we  stand  here  still,  beloved, 
for  a  few  moments  longer  as  pastor  and  people,  let  me  re- 
mind you  that  this  change  is  but  one  incident  by  the  tvay, 
of  which  there  are  so  many  occurring  as  time  passes  on. 
The  great  event  is  beyond.'  That  will  never  pass  away. 
That  claims,  as  nothing  here  can  claim,  the  heart's  deep 
feelings  and  earnestness.  Besides,  let  us  not  forget  that 
whatever  has  been  here  well  done  will  remain,  notwith- 
standing all  outside  mutations.  Other  churches — even  apos- 
tolic ones  like  those  of  Ephesus  and  Smyrna  and  Thyatira 
and  Colosse — have  gone,  but  the  fruits  of  these  remain  for- 
ever, garnered  by  the  Lord  above.  And  so  of  this  church, 
organized  44  years  ago  this  very  month,  what  a  history  and 
influence,  known  fully  only  to  God,  has  the  service  of  those 
44  years  achieved.  These  walls  then  may  go,  and  other 
purposes  be  carried  forward  upon  this  now  sacred  site,  yet 
the  prayer,  the  faith,  the  love,  the  hope,  the  deeds  of  Chris- 
8 


114  History  of  the 

tian  endeavor  here  witnessed  and  here  nourished  will  re- 
main. They  are  with  God.  Oh  !  that  He  may  keep  us,  to 
meet  in  that  day,  and  gather  eternally  the  fruits  of  our  joint 
labors  put  forth  under  the  influences  of  this  sanctuary.  Let 
us  not  forget,  either,  the  solemn  statement  of  the  apostle 
Peter  in  the  passage  which  I  read  to-day  in  your  hearing : 
"  The  end  of  all  things  is  at  hand."  "  Why,  then,"  (it  has 
well  been  asked,)  "  need  we  dwell  sorrowfully  on  these 
things  which  happen  only  on  the  way?"  They  are  all 
plainly  hastening  away.  The  great  reality  is  there — yon- 
der: The  King!  The  Coming  Judge!  who  shall  give  to 
every  one  according  as  his  work  shall  be. 

"  Brief  life  is  here  our  portion, 

Brief  sorrow,  short-lived  care ; 
The  life  that  knows  no  ending. 

The  tearless  life  is  there. 
O  happy  retribution, 

Short  toil,  eternal  rest ; 
For  mortals  and  for  sinners, 

A  mansion  with  the  blest. 

"  The  morning  shall  awaken. 

The  shadows  shall  decay, 
And  each  true-hearted  servant 

Shall  shine  as  doth  the  day. 
Then  God,  our  King  and  portion. 

In  fullness  of  His  Grace, 
Shall  we  behold  forever, 

And  worship  face  to  face." 

It  is  a  noticeable  coincidence  brought  unexpectedly  to 
my  recollection  that  this  very  day  fifty  years  ago  (April  29, 
1838),  I  stood  up  to  preach  my  first  sermon.  It  was  in  a 
school-house  near  Princeton,  New  jersey,  when  I  was  still 
a  theological  student.  How  well  do  I  remember  that  scene — 
the  long  walk  in  the  Sabbath  evening  to  the  place,  the  dim 
tallow-candles  on  the  school  desk  used  for  a  pulpit,  the  as- 
sembled audience  sitting  in  the  shadow,  and  the  young 
preacher,  timid  and  anxious,  as  he  rose  to  publish  )iis  first 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  1 1 5 

message  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  And  now,  just  half  a  cen- 
tury later  this  very  day,  I  close  my  long  pastorate  with 
you. 

And  now  a  closing  word  of  exhortation  : 

First,  To  any  who  may  yet  be  unsettled  as  to  their  choice 
of  Christ. 

Some  of  such  may  have  heard  my  voice  as  their  minister 
for  years  and  years  gone  by.  Others  of  them  may  still  be 
young.  Oh  !  you  who  have  so  long  listened  to  heaven's 
music  of  invitation,  and  who',  up  to  this  very  hour,  have 
failed  to  be  decided,  still  lingering  on  the  other  side  with 
the  unbelieving,  rejecting  world,  what  shall  be  the  end 
for  you  tliere,  yonder  ?  Can  it  be  possible  that  you  will 
meet  with  Him  only  to  be  cast  out?  Must  these  years  of 
ministry  testify  against  you  ?  By  the  love  of  God  and  His 
forbearance  toward  you,  I  beseech  you  to-day,  harden  your 
heart  no  longer.  To-day  believe  and  commit  your  soul  to 
Christ  and  follow  Him.  And  you  who  are  young,  and  who 
yet  also  stand  among  the  undecided ;  shall  I  fail,  in  part- 
ing, once  more  to  speak  to  you,  whom  I  have  so  often  ad- 
dressed, beseeching  you  to  seek  the  Lord  at  once?  I  do  it 
with  tender  importunity.  Jesus  Christ  says  to  you,  as  to 
all :  The  way  is  open — so  fully,  widely  open — to  him  who  is 
ready  to  enter,  that  none  can  shut  it  against  him.  But  it 
requires  decision  to  enter  it.  "  Strait  is  the  gate  and  nar- 
row is  the  way  that  leadeth  unto  life,  and  few  there  be  that 
find  it ;  because  wide  is  the  gate  and  broad  is  the  way  that 
leadeth  to  destruction,  and  many  there  be  which  go  in 
thereat."  "  He  that  layeth  not  down  all  that  he  hath  and 
taketh  not  up  his  cross,  cannot  be  His  disciple."  Oh  !  my 
young  friend !  have  you  decision  enough  to  enter  the  gate 
now?  Is  the  glory  of  heaven  bright  enough  in  your  eyes  to 
let  the  world  go,  and  make  sure  of  the  life  to  come?  "  Him 
that  believeth  in  Me  and  confesseth  Me  before  men,"  says 
Christ,  "  I  will  confess  in  the  presence  of  My  Father  and  the 
holy  angels."  Once  more  you  have  life  and  death  set  be- 
fore you.     Will  you  fail,  after  all,  of  the  grace  of  God  ! 


Ii6  History  of  the 

Secondly,  But  to  you  who  have  confessed  His  name. 

Some  of  you  have  long  followed  Him.  You  know  by 
experience  His  faithfulness.  He  has  led  us  thus  far.  He 
will  never  forsake  you.  Others  of  you  are  young  as  believ- 
ers— in  many  cases  children  of  the  covenant,  presented  in 
baptism  by  your  believing  parents,  and  afterward,  when 
arrived  at  years  of  sufificient  knowledge,  you  have  confessed 
Christ  as  your  personal  Redeemer.  To  you  all  I  say : 
There  is  still  a  conflict ;  the  battle  yet  rages  ;  thfe  "  wicked 
spirits  in  high  places,"  of  which  the  apostle  speaks,  always 
have  access  to  us  here.  They  are  always  full  of  malice  and 
of  cunning  devices  to  entrap  and  lead  us  astray ;  always 
bent  on  overthrowing  and  ruining  us.  And  they  would 
surely  and  necessarily  succeed  but  for  our  ever-present  de- 
fense— God  and  His  grace  and  His  protection  and  His  de- 
liverance. His  promise.  His  power,  //w  faithfulness,  are  our 
rest  and  hope.  Yes,  the  battle  yet  rages,  nor  will  the  fight 
be  done  until  the  Master  calls  you  home.  Remember  then — 
and  I  speak  now  to  all  such  present  to-day,  including  the 
many  who  were  once  with  us,  but  are  now  removed,  and 
whose  familiar  faces  we  are  all  glad  once  more  to  behold  in 
this  assembly, — remember : 

I.  First:  That  it  is  the  GRACE  of  God  which  saves  you — 
free,  unmerited,  and  most  real  grace.  You  are  looked 
upon  by  the  Father  as  standing  in  Christ ;  not  m  yourselves, 
and  therefore  as  possessingby  God's  grace  what  Jesus  Christ 
has  won  for  you  ;  accepted  of  God  in  your  persons  and  in  ' 
your  services  rendered  to  Him.  Oh!  let  yourselves  go,  I 
beseech  you  ;  let  yourselves  go  ;  and  let  your  thoughts  ever 
turn  to  behold  what  you  possess  (according  to  God's  testi- 
mony) in  Christ.  His  righteousness  clothes  you,  and  it 
has  no  spot — His  cross  has  adjudged  and  atoned  for  and 
removed  your  sins  forever,  and  has  opened  Heaven's  treas- 
ures to  you.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  yours  and  dwells  in  you 
because  you  are  Christ's  and  are  in  Christ.  And  abiding  in 
Him,  He  ensures  your  preservation  all  the  way  through  to 
eternal  glory. 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  1 1 7 

2.  Remember  next :  That  God's  Word  is  your  guide  and 
not  man's  word.  What  great  and  persistent  attempts  are 
made  in  this  day  to  set  that  Word  aside,  by  theories  pro- 
fessedly built  on  insubvertible  foundations,  but  which  van- 
ish after  about  a  score  of  years  to  give  place  to  some  new 
one.  Oh  !  keep  that  Word  ever  before  you.  Read  it  con- 
stantly and  study  it  and  teach  it  as  the  Word  of  the  living 
God  to  your  children.  Begin  every  day  by  meeting  God  as 
He  speaks  to  you  in  it,  and  speak  you  in  prayer  back  again 
to  Him.  Let  no  man  deceive  you.  You  are  begotten  of 
the  truth  of  God.  You  are  nourished  by  God's  truth.  You 
grow  in  grace  by  growing  in  the  knowledge  of  God's  Son 
as  the  Word  reveals  Him.  Be  not,  therefore,  by  any  con- 
sideration drawn  away  from  that  Word,  nor  ever  be  tempted 
to  undervalue  it,  or  to  doubt  it,  or  to  substitute  other  things 
for  it  as  your  guide.  And  never  be  content,  I  charge  you, 
to  listen  to  any  religious  teacher  who  doubts  about  it,  or 
who  ignores  it,  or  who  undervalues  it,  or  who  is  willing 
to  accept  and  teach  only  parts  of  it  as  God's  Word,  or  who 
upholds  his  teachings  by  other  considerations  than  that 
Word's  divine  authority  from  Heaven,  "  thus  saith  the 
Lord." 

3.  Remember  next :  Your  position  as  one  bought  by 
Christ's  own  blood,  and  therefore  as  not  your  own,  but  be- 
longing to  Him,  your  Lord.  And  remember,  too,  the  po- 
sition of  yourself  and  of  His  whole  Church,  in  this  life,  as 
not  of  this  world,  but  called  by  grace  out  of  this  world — 
separated  from  it,  in  spirit,  in  desires,  in  aims,  in  life — as  a 
home,  as  an  inheritance,  as  a  country.  Remember  that 
your  real  life  is  a  hidden  life  to  the  eyes  of  the  world — a  life 
really  unknown  by  the  men  of  the  world  and  unrelished  by 
them  just  so  far  as  it  is  known  ;  a  life  that  is  hidden  with 
Christ  in  God,  and  to  be  revealed  in  its  glory  only  when 
the  Lord  comes.  It  is  not  a  life  which  exhibits  itself  by  its 
brilliant  eminences  of  wealth  or  station  or  worldly  honor  here. 
It  is  not  a  life  revealing  its  e.xcellence  and  attractiveness  by 
its  dignities  seen  in  this  world,  either  in  State  or  even  in  the 


1 1 8  History  of  the 

Church.  It  is  not  a  life  reveaHng  itself  by  a  shining  social 
position,  nor  by  its  success  in  worldly  schemes.  It  is  a  life 
whose  greatness  and  glory  and  holiness,  and  its  now  un- 
seen and  unknown  and  inconceivable  grounds  of  existence 
and  its  sublime  realities,  are  yet  to  be  revealed — a  hiddeji  life 
now — hidden  with  Christ  in  God,  and  revealed  only  when 
the  Lord  shall  come  (Col.  iii.  1-4).  I  charge  you,  then,  let 
all  men  see  in  you  continually,  and  in  all  the  relations  of 
this  present  world  and  life,  the  spirit  of  "  the  pilgrim  and 
stranger,"  whose  aims  and  hopes  are  above,  where  Christ  sit- 
teth  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  While  you  are  necessarily 
diligent  in  business,  as  Christ's  servant,  hold,  I  entreat  you, 
hold  everything  here  with  a  loose  hand.  And  look  and 
long  for  His  coming  when  your  true  life  shall  at  last  be 
manifested  ;  where  your  true  citizenship,  for  which  your 
"  name  is  enrolled  in  Heaven,"  is  to  be  realized  ;  where  you 
shall  appear  with  Christ  in  glory. 

4.  Remember  next :  To  labor  for  Him  courageously ;  do- 
ing the  work  which  He  sets  before  you  ;  doing  little  things 
or  great  things,  hard  work  or  easy  work,  as  He  in  His 
providence  calls  you  to  engage  in  them.  It  is  not  so  much 
the  kind  of  work  which  you  do  for  Him  that  is  important 
as  the  manner  in  which  the  work  is  done.  In  any  case 
"  He  is  not  unjust  to  forget  your  work  and  labor  of  love" 
for  Him. 

5.  Remember,  too:  That  He  is  your  stronghold,  and  not 
yourself.  Walk  with  Him  ;  live  in  communion  with  HiM  ; 
follow  Him;  wait  for  HiM — "God's  Son,  from  heaven,"  to 
receive  you  to  the  place  of  rest. 

So  I  commend  you  to  "  the  Lord  on  whom  you  have  be- 
lieved." And  may  He,  the  faithful  One,  crown  these  years  of 
ministry,  for  pastor  and  people,  with  His  gracious  approval, 
pardoning  all  that  has  been  wrong ;  and  owning  with 
abundant  grace  all  that,  as  the  fruit  of  His  guiding,  strength- 
ening Spirit,  has  been  right ;  and  bring  us  at  last  to  stand 
together,  pastor  and  people,  in  His  own  presence  with 
abounding  joy. 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  119 

Then  followed  the  closing  prayer,  after  which  the  pastor 
proceeded,  as  follows : 

As  I  have  already  stated, — At  the  meeting  of  the  Presby- 
tery of  Jersey  City,  held  in  Passaic,  New  Jersey,  April  17, 
1888,  it  was  agreed,  on  the  application  of  your  pastor,  and 
with  the  acquiescence  of  the  congregation,  expressed  through 
their  Commissioners,  that  the  pastoral  relation  between  us 
should  be  this  day  dissolved,  and  this  pulpit  declared  vacant. 

Therefore,  In  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  the 
Head  of  the  Church,  and  by  the  authority  and  direction  of 
the  Presbytery  of  Jersey  City,  acting  for  Him,  I  do  now  pro- 
nounce and  declare  that  the  pastoral  relation  which  has  ex- 
isted since  February  11,  1852,  and  up  to  the  present  time, 
between  myself  and  this  Presbyterian  church  and  congrega- 
tion of  Jersey  City,  is  now  dissolved. 

And  may  He  who  saves  us  by  His  grace,  and  is  Lord  of 
both  shepherds  and  their  flocks,  have  us  ever  in  His  holy 
keeping,  and  give  us  grace  to  maintain  the  battle  manfully 
to  the  end,  and  bring  us  oi?  more  than  conquerors  through 
His  love.  And  when  He  comes  in  His  glory,  then,  whether 
we  be  among  those  who  still  are  living  or  whether  we  be 
among  those  departed  and  sleeping  in  Jesus,  may  we  live 
forever  together  with  Him,  and  have  an  abundant  entrance 
ministered  to  us  into  His  heavenly  kingdom.     Amen. 


The  congregation  then  rose  and  sang  together  the  follow- 
ing hymn : 

"  Blest  be  the  dear,  uniting  love, 
That  will  not  let  us  part : 
Our  bodies  may  far  off  remove; 
We  still  are  one  in  heart. 

"Joined  in  one  spirit  to  our  Head, 
Where  He  appoints  we  go  ; 
We  still  in  Jesus'  footsteps  tread, 
And  show  His  praise  below. 


I20  History  of  the 

"Oh,  may  we  ever  walk  in  Him, 
And  nothing  know  beside  ! 
Nothing  desire,  nothing  esteem. 
But  Jesus  crucified ! 
I 

"  Partakers  of  the  Saviour's  grace. 
The  same  in  mind  and  heart. 
Not  joy  nor  grief  nor  time  nor  place 
Nor  life  nor  death  can  part." 


The  exercises  were  closed  with  the  Benediction,  and  the 
Doxology, 

"Praise  God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow,"  etc., 
chanted  by  the  choir. « 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  121 


OF   THE 

FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH 

OF 

JERSEY   CITY,    N.  J. 


The  following  list  gives  the  names  of  the  Trustees  of  the 
Church  from  the  time  of  its  organization,  with  the  year  of 
their  election,  up  to  the  year  1888  : 

1844— March  5. 

Dudley  G.  Gregory,  Lewis  D.  Hardenburgh, 

David  Henderson,  Henry  Southmayd, 

Oliver  S.  Strong,  Erastus  Randall, 

Henry  M.  Alexander. 

1847 — November  9. 

Jonathan  D.  Miller,  Josiah  H.  Gautier,  M.D., 

Thomas  H.  Amidon,  Wm.  A.  Townsend, 

Abram  S.  Jewell,  David  Henderson  (2d). 

1848 — November  22. 

Luke  C.  Lyman,  Oliver  S.  Strong. 

i849^November  22. 
Abram  S.  Jewell,  Josiah  H.  Gautier,  M.D. 

1850— November  22. 
J.  D.  Miller,        VVm.  A.  Townsend,        David  Henderson  (2d). 


122 


History  of  the 


Luke  C.  Lyman, 


1851 — November  22. 

Oliver  S.  Strong. 


1852 — November  22. 

Abram  S.  Jewell,         J.  H.  Gautier,  M.D.,         Wm.  T.  Rodgers. 

1853— April  14. 

Frederick  B.  Betts,  Uzal  Cory, 

William  R.  Janeway,  B.  B.  Grinnell, 

Edwin  Wygant,  J.  W.  Parker, 

J.  W.  Bonnell. 


Chas.  Fink, 


Andrew  Clerk, 


Chas.  Fink, 


F.  B.  Betts, 


Abram  S.  Jewell, 


Chas.  Fink, 


F.  B.  Betts, 


Benj.  G.  Clarke, 


1854 — November  29. 

Jas.  R.  Thompson. 

1855 — November  22. 

Abram  S.  Jewell. 

1856 — November  21. 
J.  W.  Parker,  Jas.  R.  Thompson. 

1857 — November  20. 

Wm.  R.  Janeway. 

1858 — November  24. 

Augustus  Jenkins. 

1859 — November  24. 

J.  W.  Parker,  Jas.  R.  Thompson. 

i860 — November  21. 

W.  R.  Janeway. 

1861 — November  22. 

J.  R.  Schuyler. 


First  Presbyterian  Chiircli  of  Jersey  City.  123 

1862 — November  22. 

Jas.  R.  Thompson,     Jas.  L.  Ogden,     Bennington  F.  Randolph. 

1863 — November  20. 

Henry  W.  Buxton,  H.  A.  Coursen. 

1864 — November  25. 
Benj.  G.  Clarke,  J.  R.  Schuyler. 

1865— December  i. 

J.  R.  Thompson,  J.  L.  Ogden,  B.  F.  Randolph. 

1866 — December  12. 

H.  A.  Coursen,  H.  W.  Buxton,  Walter  S.  Neilson. 

.  1867 — December  11. 

B.  G.  Clarke,  Theron  S.  Doremus. 

1868 — December  16. 
B.  F.  Randolph,  J.  E.  Hulshizer,  T.  B.  Meigs. 

1869 — December  8. 

H.  W.  Buxton,  Walter  S.  Neilson. 

1870 — December  7. 

Benj.  G.  Clarke,  Theron  S.  Doremus. 

1871 — November  8. 
T.  B.  Meigs,  J.  Flavel  McGee,  J.  E.  Hulshizer. 

1872 — December  4. 

H.  W.  Buxton,  William  Harney,  Wm.  E.  Stiger. 

1873— January  28. 

Abram  S.  Jewell,  Wm.  E.  Stiger. 


124 


History  of  the 


Benj.  G.  Clarke, 


T.  B.  Meigs, 


J.  A.  KUNKEL, 


Benj.  G.  Clarke, 


T.  B.  Meigs, 


J.  A.  KUNKEL, 


1873 — November  5. 

Abram  S.  Jewell. 


1874 — November  11. 

J.  F.  McGee, 

1875 — November  10. 

W.  E.  Stiger, 


Jas.  L.  Ogden. 


H.  A.  Coursen. 


1876 — November  8. 

John  B.  Huntting. 

1877 — November  7. 

H.  A.  COURSEN,  J.  FlAVEL  McGeE. 

1878 — November  13. 

Hamilton  Wallis. 


D.  C.  McNaughton, 
John  B.  Huntting, 


1879 — November  5. 

William  Ewan, 
Chas.  a.  Southmayd, 
A. Slauson. 

1879 — December  3. 
Chas.  D.  Davis. 


Chas.  D.  Davis, 


W.  D.  Godley, 


William  Runkle, 


John  B.  Huntting, 


1880— November  3. 
James  R.  Henry, 

1881 — November  2. 

J.  A.  Kunkel, 


A.  Slauson. 


Joseph  D.  Bedle. 


1882— March  3. 

George  S.  Smith. 

1882 — November  8. 

D.  C.  McNaughton. 


First  Presbyterian  Cliurch  of  Jersey  City.  125 

1883 — November  14. 

Wm.  Runkle,  George  S.  Smith,  J.  Flavel  McGee. 

1884 — November  12. 
Joseph  D.  Bedle,  J.  A.  Kunkel. 

1885— November  25. 
John  B.  Huntting,  Wm.  Martin. 

1886 — November  26. 
George  S.  Smith,         Joseph  D.  Bedle,  Jr.,         Wm.  D.  Godley. 

1887— November  23. 

Joseph  D.  Bedle,  J.  A.  Kunkel,  W.  J.  Montgomery. 

The  present  Board  of  Trustees,  July  i,  1888,  are  as  fol- 
lows: 

Hon.  Joseph  D.  Bedle,  President.  Wm.  Martin, 

JNO.  B.  Huntting,  Secretary  and  George  S.  Smith, 

Treasurer.  Joseph  D.  Bedle,  Jr., 

J.  A.  Kunkel,  Wm.  J.  Montgomery. 


126 


History  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SDNDAY-SCHOOL  OF  THE  FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN 
CgORCH,  JERSEY  CITY. 


On  the  evening  of  the  13th  day  of  May,  1844,  the  follow- 
ing persons  assembled  at  the  Lyceum  in  Grand  Street  for 
the  purpose  of  organizing  a  Sunday-school  to  be  connected 
with  the  First  Presbyterian  Church : 

Rev.  John  Johnstone,  Pastor. 

Oliver  S.  Strong,  L.  D.  Hardenburgh,  and  L.  T.  Stowell, 

Elders. 


Lebbeus  Chapman, 
Benjamin  U.  Ryder, 
John- Thompson, 
James  Morrison, 
T.  H.  Shafer, 
William  Rhodes, 
E.  C.  Bramhall, 


Mrs.  Johnstone, 

Mrs.  Mary  F.  Stowell, 

Miss  Louisa  Gregory, 

Miss  Clara  Gregory, 

Miss  Margaret  Henderson, 

Miss  Margaret  Johnstone, 

Miss  Mary  Shafer. 


A  constitution  was   adopted  and  the  following  officers 
were  elected : 


Lebbeus  Chapman, 
Benjamin  U.  Ryder, 
William  Rhodes,  . 
E.  C.  Bramhall,     . 


Superintendent. 
Librarian. 
Secretary. 
Treasurer. 


It  was  also  resolved,  "  That  thi^  Society  become  auxiliary 
to  the  New  York  Sunday-school  Union."  Upon  this  being 
done,  the  school  was  numbered  Tj  of  the  New  York  Sun- 
day-school Union,  and  continued  as  such  during  the  exist- 
ence of  that  Union. 

The  school  thus  organized  went  into  operation  on  the 
succeeding  Sabbath  with  fourteen  teachers  and  forty-five 
scholars. 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  127 

All  of  the  eighteen  persons  present  at  the  first  meeting 
have  long  since  passed  away  from  the  church  and  Jersey 
City.     At  least  eight  are  dead  ;  probably  more. 

The  school  thus  organized  has  continued  in  existence  to 
the  present  time  with  certainly  a  fair  degree  of  prosperity.  . 
The   following  statistics  show  the  number  on  the  rolls  at 
different  periods  in  its  history  as  appears  from  annual  re- 
ports : 

1852.     27  Teachers  and  Officers,  178  Scholars; 

1858.     37  "  "         222         '• 

1865.     38  "  "         179 

1869.     37  "  "         198        " 

1876.     32       •   "  "         237 

showing  thus  an  average  number  of  about  175  to  200  schol- 
ars on  the  rolls,  with  a  fair  percentage  of  average  attend- 
ance. 

Ofificers. 

The  records  of  the  school  were  at  first  imperfectly  kept, 
and  the  minutes  oi  annual  meetings  and  probable  elections 
held  in  the  years  1846,  1847,  1848,  1853,  and  1854,  are  miss- 
ing, so  that  there  may  be  some  omissions  in  the  following 
lists;  but,  as  far  as  the  records  show,  the  following  have 
held  offices: 

Superintendents. 

Lebbeus  Chapman,  from  May  13,  1844,  for  at  least  two  jtears. 
(Three  years'  records  missing.) 

Thomas  H.  Shafer,  from  May  21,  1849,  to  November  6,  1853. 

William  R.  Janeway,  from  November  6,  1853,  to  November  5, 
1855. 

Frederick  B.Betts,  from  November  5,  1855,  to  May  9,  i860. 

Edwin  Wygant,  from  May  9,  i860,  to  November  20,  1861. 

Julius  S.  Howell,  from  November  20,  i86i,  to  May  14,  1872. 

Rev.  C.  K.  Imbrie,  D.D.,  from  May  14,  1872,  to  November  12,  1876. 

William  E.  Stiger,  from  November  12,  1876,  to  date. 

Assistant  Superintendents. 

J.  S.  Davenport,  from  May  21,  1849,  to  November  15,  1852. 
Edwin  Wygant,  from  November  15,  1852,  to . 


128  History  of  the 

Samuel  W.  Davenport,  from  November  5,  1855,  to  May  2,  1859. 
Mrs.  Slater,  from  May  2,  1859,  to  May  9,  1862. 
Miss  Louisa  Harris  (Mrs.  Clerk),  from  May  9,  1862,  to  June  2, 
1869. 
Mrs.  Talmage,  from  June  2,  1869,  to  May  18,  1870. 
Horace  S.  Allen,  from  May  18,  1870,  to  May  28,  1876. 
Mrs.  H.  A.  Coursen,  from  March  21,  1873,  to  May — ,  1874. 
Flavel  McGee,  from  November  12,  1876,  to  date. 

Treasurers. 

E.  C.  Bramhall,  from  May  13,  1844,  to  April  12,  1845. 

William  Rhodes,  from  April  12,  1845,  to . 

William  Bayley,  from  April  21,  1849,  to  May  20,  1851. 
Louis  Bonnell,  from  May  20,  1851,  to  August  16,  1852. 
T.  S.  Harris,  from  August  16,  1852,  to . 

S.  D.  Seelye,  from  November  11,  1855,  to  May  5,  1856. 
T.  H.  Shaker,  from  May  5,  1856,  to  May  8,  1858. 
A.  Jenkins,  from  May  8,  1858,  to  May  2,  1859. 
S.  W.  Davenport,  from  May  2,  1859,  to  May  9,  i860. 
James  R.  Henry,  from  May  9,  i860,  to  May  18,  1870. 
A.  C.  TULLY,  from  May  18,  1870,  to  May  — ,  1876. 
Charles  F.  Imbrie,  from  May  28,  1876,  to  date. 

Secretaries. 

William  Rhodes,  from  May  13,  1844,  to  April  12,  1845. 

L.  Chapman,  Jr.,  from  April  12,  1845,  to . 

J.  T.  Shafer,  from  May  21,  1849,  to  May  20,  1851. 

Henry  A.  Lyman,  from  May  20,  1851,  to  November  19,  1851. 

F.  F.  Betts,  from  November  19,  1 851,  to  November  — ,  1854. 

E.  N.  K.  Talcott,  from  November  — ,  1854,  to  November  11,  1855. 
S.  D.  Seelye,  from  November  11,  1855,  to  February  22,  1856. 

F.  F.  Betts,  from  February  22,  1856,  to  May  4,  1857. 
J.  H.  Thomas,  from  May  4,  1857,  to  May  8,  1858. 
James  R.  Henry,  from  May  8,  1858,  ft)  May  18,  1870. 
A.  C.  Tully,  from  May  18,  1870,  to  May  — ,  1876. 
James  R.  Henry,  from  May  28,  1876,  to  date. 

Librarians  and  Assistants. 

The  following  have  at  different  times  and  for  longer  or 
shorter  periods  served  in  this  capacity : 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  129 

Benjamin  U.  Ryder,  David  Downer, 

S.  Lynch,  Charles  H.  Jaquith, 

John  H.  Lyon,  William  E.  Stiger, 

Jacob  Fisher,  William  T.  Henry, 

James  Thompson,  John  K.  Duryee, 

Frederick  F.  Betts,  Horace  J.  Jaquith, 

J.  T.  Shafer,  J.  B.  Betts, 

Calvin  Shafer,  Edward  Linn, 

E.  N.  K.  Talcott,  Jacob  Farlee, 

J.  Clarke,  Henry  Williams. 

J.  H.  Thomas,  James  Henry, 

Howard  Slater,  William  M.  Imbrie, 

Hugh  H.  Janeway,  Charles  L.  Fink, 

James  T.  B.  Collins,  Charles  Talmage, 
Thomas  L.  Janeway. 

The  school  has  usually  been  divided  into  one  or  more 
older  Bible-classes,  the  classes  meeting  in  the  general  school- 
room, and  an  infant  class. 

The  teachers  of  the  infant  class  have  been : 

Mr.  S.  W.  Davenport. 

Miss  Hannah  J.  Roy. 

Mrs.  Catalina  Talmage,  for  many  years  and  still  in  service. 

Mrs.  David  Downer,  for  a  short  time. 

Mrs.  H.  W.  Buxton,  during  last  year,  having  boys  only. 

The  hour  of  meeting  has  been  usually  at  2  or  2.30  P.M. 

The  studies  pursued  in  the  general  classes  were  for  sev- 
eral years  in  the  Union  Question-Books,  and  also  Scripture 
Question-Books  for  younger  scholars,  and  part  of  the  time 
without  Question-Books. 

Since  the  adoption  of  the  International  Series  of  Lessons 
they  have  been  used  in  .the  school.  Particular  attention 
has  been  also  paid  to  the  Assembly's  Shorter  Catechism. 

A  library  has  always  been  maintained,  usually  containing 
some  500  or  600  volumes. 

But   little  attention  was  paid  to   singing   in   the  school 

until  about  1862,  since  which  time  the  school  has  occupied 

about   half  an   hour   of  each   session  in  singing,  under  the 

leadership  of  Mr.  H.  W.  Bu.xton.     The  books  used  have 

9 


130  History  of  the 

been  "  The  Golden  Chain,"  "  Happy  Voices,"  "  Silver 
Spray,"  and  "  Christian  Songs." 

A  system  of  merit  tickets  and  rewards  was  in  use  until 
about  1850,  when  it  was  abolished.  During  the  last  year 
rewards  have  been  given  for  committing  the  Catechism  and 
parts  of  the  lessons,  and  a  reward  to  Miss  Mary  Black  for 
committing  the  Gospel  of  John. 

As  the  school  belonged  to  the  New  York  Union  for  sev- 
eral years,  it  was  accustomed  to  proceed  to  New  York  on 
the  Anniversary  occasions  and  join  with  the  New  York 
schools  in  the  celebration.  This  continued  until  1852, 
when  it  was  determined  to  unite  the  Jersey  City  schools  in 
the  celebration  of  an  Anniversary  at  home.  Accordingly, 
through  the  efforts  of  the  ofificers  of  this  school,  all  the 
schools  of  Jersey  City  assembled  in  this  church  to  hold  an 
Anniversary.  Since  then  these  celebrations  have  been  con- 
tinued annually,  until  now  usually  some  eight  churches  are 
opened  and  many  thousands  parade.  Mr.  A.  S.  Jewell  and 
Mr.  F.  B.  Betts  were  the  most  prominent  persons  in  orig- 
inating these  Anniversaries. 

Christmas  celebrations  have  been  held  for  four  years  past. 

The  present  pastor  was  accustomed  to  preach  to  the 
children  on  the  first  Sabbath  of  every  month  until  he  be- 
came Superintendent,  when  those  special  services  were  dis- 
continued. 

Teachers'  meetings  for  study  of  the  lessons,  and  special 
prayer-meetings,  have  been  held  at  different  times  for  longer 
or  shorter  periods ;  also  various  missionary  meetings  at 
different  times. 

As  a  nursery  for  the  church,  the  school  has  borne  a  prom- 
inent part.  It  is  impossible  for  me  with  the  materials  at 
my  command  to  give  the  exact  number  of  those  who  have 
united  with  the  church  while  connected  with  the  school, 
but  that  number  is  large.  Very  few  years  have  passed  with- 
out some  such  additions,  and  in  some  years  the  number  has 
been,  I  think,  as  high  as  20. 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  i  3 1 

Mission  Work. 

The  school,  while  thus  engaged  in  its  own  quiet  work, 
has  also  largely  participated  in  mission  work,  and  this  may 
be  divided  into  mission  work  at  home  in  Jersey  City,  and 
work  outside  of  the  city,  both  in  the  United  States  and  in 
foreign  fields.     And — 

1st.  As  to  mission  work  in  Jersey  City. 

Early  in  the  history  of  the  school  an  effort  was  made  to 
visit  that  part  of  Jersey  City  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
school,  and  draw  in  those  not  attending  any  Sabbath-school. 
Systematic  efforts  in  this  respect  have  been  several  times 
repeated  with  good  results,  and  might,  perhaps,  be  now  ad- 
vantageously renewed,  although  the  ground  has  been  par- 
tially occupied  by  others.  Our  school  was  at  first  composed 
almost  entirely  of  children  whose  parents  belonged  to  the 
congregation.  This  has  changed  to  a  very  great  extent, 
and  for  the  last  few  years  the  majority  of  the  scholars  have 
probably  been  from  families  not  connected  with  this  church. 
Among  those  brought  in  at  different  times  we  may  men- 
tion a  number  of  children  residing  on  canal-boats  moored 
in  the  canal  basin  during  the  winter.  Some  of  these  chil- 
dren returned  to  us  for  two  or  more  successive  winters, 
being  absent  in  the  summer. 

A  Sunday-school  was  conducted  in  the  old  Almshouse 
at  the  foot  of  Washington  Street  for  several  years  by  Mrs. 
C.  L.  Fink,  and  other  members  of  our  church,  which  might 
be  considered  as  a  branch  of  our  school.  This  was  con- 
tinued until  the  removal  of  the  inmates  to  Snake  Hill  made 
it  necessary  to  abandon  this  enterprise. 

A  mission-school  of  the  former  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association,  prior  to  1858,  was  largely  supported  by  mem- 
bers of  this  church.  The  school  of  the  Children's  Home  was 
also  mainly  conducted  by  our  church  members  until  the 
removal  of  the  Home  to  the  Heights. 

Contributions  have  at  different  times  been  made  to  other 
mission-schools  in  this  city  and  vicinity,  and  to  the  city 
missions. 


132  History  of  the 

A  German  mission-school,  under  the  superintendency  of 
Mr.  John  Ullmer,  has  been  for  several  years  held  in  our 
rooms  in  the  morning,  many  of  the  scholars  attending  our 
own  school  in  the  afternoon. 

In  the  year  1863  a  mission-school  was  established  in  a 
small  room  at  the  corner  of  Grove  and  York  Streets,  with 
Hon.  B.  F.  Randolph  as  superintendent ;  Mr.  Amerman, 
assistant  superintendent ;  and  J.  R.  Henry  as  secretary 
aftd  treasurer.  This  school  was  held  at  9  A.M.,  and  con- 
tinued for  some  months  with  an  attendance  of  25  or  30 
scholars.  The  room,  however,  was  small  and  inconvenient, 
and  no  other  could  be  obtained.  It  was,  therefore,  de- 
termined to  discontinue.  Several  of  the  scholars  were 
transferred  to  the  main  school,  which  some  of  them  con- 
tinued to  attend  until  a  recent  period  ;  others  went  to  other 
schools. 

2d.  As  to  mission  work  abroad. 

Regular  contributions  have  been  made  to  the  Presbyte- 
rian Boards  of  Foreign  and  Domestic  Missions,  $50  per  an 
num  being  given  to  each  for  many  years.  From  the  moneys 
contributed  to  the  Foreign  Board  at  least  two  children  were 
educated  in  China,  one  named  John  Johnstone,  after  our  first 
pastor,  and  one  a  female.  Recently,  as  is  well  remembered, 
the  son  of  our  pastor.  Rev.  William  Imbrie  and  his  wife, 
both  long  connected  with  our  school,  have  gone  as  mission- 
aries to  Japan.  A  communion  service  has  just  been  prom- 
ised by  us  to  be  presented  to  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Tokio,  Japan. 

In  1864,  under  the  superintendency  of  Mr.  J.  S.  Howell, 
a  Sunday-school  was  established,  by  contributions  from  us, 
at  Genoa,  Minnesota,  and  called  the  Imbrie  Mission.  About 
the  same  time  we  began  to  contribute  toward  the  salary  of 
Mr.  W.  Hatch,  a  missionary  of  the  Am.  S.  S.  Union  in 
Minnesota,  and  some  other  missionaries.  At  present  we  con- 
tribute toward  the  support  of  Rev.  Mr.  Lewis,  a  missionary 
in  the  same  State.  Under  these  gentlemen  a  number  of 
Sunday-schools  were  established  in  Minnesota,  aided  partly 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City.  133 

by  us  by  supplies  of  books,  papers,  etc.  By  a  report  made 
at  our  Anniversary  in  1869,  there  were  then  in  existence  of 
these  schools  the  following: 

1.  Imbrie  Mission,  at  Genoa ; 

2.  Talmage  Mission,  at  Oak  Glen  ; 

3.  Henry  Mission,  at  Harper's  School-House; 

4.  School  at  Goodhue  Centre; 

5.  Trio  Mission,  at  Fairport ; 

6.  Barker  Mission  ; 

7.  (Name  unknown.) 

8.  School  at  Leavenworth  ; 

9.  Meigs  Mission  ; 
10.  Jewell  Mission, 

and  some  seven  others,  whose  names  and  locations  were  un- 
known ;  some  aided  by  us  as  a  school,  and  some  by  individu- 
als in  this  and  other  churches.  Others  have  been  organized 
since.  Precisely  how  many  of  these  are  still  in  existence,  I 
am  unable  to  state.     I  believe  we  aid  none  now  specially. 

Boxes  of  books,  papers,  hymn-books,  etc.,  have  been  sent 
to  these  and  other  schools  at  different  times,  also  boxes  of 
clothing  to  the  above  and  other  missionaries. 

I  have  thus  endeavored  to  put  together  a  few  of  the  princi- 
pal facts  in  regard  to  the  history  of  our  school.  May  the 
record  of  what  we  have  accomplished  in  the  past  inspire  us 
to  greater  effort  in  the  future. 

James  R.  Henry,  Secretary. 
Jersey  City,  February,  1877. 

Continuing  the  above  history  from  1877,  the  following 
have  been  the  officers  of  the  school : 

Superintendents. 

William  E.  Stiger, to  September  29,  1878. 

Flavel  McGee,  September  29,  1878,  to  January  ii,  1880. 
Henry  W.  Buxton,  January  11,  1880,  to  May  12,  1880. 
James  R.  Henry,  May  12,  1880.  to  April  30,  1882. 


134  History  of  the 

Flavel  McGee,  April  30,  1882,  to ,  1883. 

H.  O.  HUNTTING,  June  8,  1884,  to  January  i,  1887. 
John  C.  Parsons,  January  i,  1887,  to  date. 

Assistant  Superintendents. 

Flavel  McGee, to  September  29,  1878. 

Titus  B.  Meigs,  May  3,  1S79,  to  May  12,  1880. 
John  Linn,  May  12,  1880,  to  April  30,  1882. 
Miss  S.  Waldron,  April  30,  1882,  to  June  14,  1885. 
Miss  Sophie  Meschutt,  June  14,  1885,  to  June,  1886. 
John  C.  Parsons,  June,  1886,  to  January  i,  1887. 
O.  R.  Blanchard,  June  5,  1S87,  to  date. 

Secretaries. 

James  R.  Henry, to  May  12,  1880. 

H.  O.  HuNTTiNG,  April  30,  1882,  to  June  8,  1884. 
Harry  Platt,  June  8,  1884,  to  June  14,  1885. 
William  M.  Smith,  June  14,  1885,  to  April  39,  1888. 
J.  E.  HULSHIZER,  Jr.,  April  29,  1888,  to  date. 
W.  A.  Martin,  Assistant  Secretarj',  i888. 

Treasurers. 

Charles  F.  Imbrie, to  June,  1886. 

George  S.  Smith,  June,  1886,  to  date. 

And  the  following 

Librarians  or  Assistants. 

Jacob  Farlee,  George  S.  Smith,       Philip  F.  Meschutt, 

Thomas  Doremus,      John  Olendorf,         William  M.  Smith, 
R.  Sharpe  Kunkel,    Jas.  L.  Ogden,  Jr.,      William  Ritchie, 
Sanford  E.  Smith. 

The  school  has  been  continued  with  some  decrease  in  the 
number  of  teachers,  but  about  the  average  of  scholars.  The 
Annual  Report  for  1881  showed  on  roll  24  ofificers  and 
teachers,  and  166  scholars.  This  was  increased  in  1882.  In 
1886,  27  teachers  and  officers  and  180  scholars  were  reported. 

The  last  Report  was  about  25  officers  and  teachers,  and 
about  200  scholars,  with  an  average  attendance  of  about  165. 


First  Presbyterian  Chureli  of  Jersey  City.  135 

The  studies  pursued  have  been  the  International  Lesson 
Series,  using  the  publications  of  the  Presbyterian  Board. 

The  infant  class  has  been  under  the  management  of  Mrs. 
Talmage,  recently  deceased  ;  Miss  Bettine  Wines,  Mr.  John 
B.  Huntting,  and  Miss  Mary  Wallace. 

The  singing  has  been  conducted  by  Mr.  H.  W.  Buxton, 
Mr.  C.  D.  Davis,  Mr.  Wm.  Runkle,  Mr.  Geo.  Smith,  and 
Mr.  Wm.  Smith.  A  Sunday-school  choir  was  organized  in 
1887;  "Spiritual  Songs  for  the  Sunday-school"  was  intro- 
duced as  the  music-book  in  1881. 

Teachers'  meetings  have  been  maintained  during  part  of 
the  time.  The  entertainment  feature  has  not  been  forgot- 
ten,  and  the  school  has  joined  in  the  general  Anniversaries, 
and  held  Easter  and  Christmas  services,  of  which  those  of 
1887  were  the  most  noticeable,  and  has  had  some  other  en- 
tertainments. From  1878  to  1882  Certificates  of  Honor 
were  given  to  Ihose  bringing  in  new  scholars,  and  for  the  last 
three  years  prizes  to  those  absent  not  more  than  twice  dur- 
ing a  year. 

While  there  has  perhaps  been  no  season  of  special  religi- 
ous interest,  yet  during  all  these  years  but  few  have  passed 
without  some  from  the  school  uniting  with  the  church. 

The  church  having  decided  to  discontinue  its  services,  the 
school,  at  a  meeting  held  April  29,  1888,  decided  that  it 
would  continue,  and  elected  the  following  officers : 


John  C.  Parsons, 
O.  R.  Blanchard, 

J.  E.  HULSHIZER,  Jr., 

W.  A.  Martin, 
George  S.  Smith, 
Sanford  E.  Smith,  ) 
William  Ritchie,      I 
William  M.  Smith, 
Miss  Mary  Wallace, 


Superintendent. 
Assistant  Superintendent. 
Secretary. 

Assistant  Secretary. 
Treasurer  and  Librarian. 

Assistant  Librarians. 


Chorister. 

Teacher  of  Infant  Class. 

And  at  a  meeting  held  May  6,  1888,  the  name  of  the  school 
was  changed  to  "  The  Imbrie  Sunday-school,"  under  which 
name  it  has  continued  to  meet  in  the  old  church  building, 
with  about  the  same  number  of  teachers  and  scholars. 


136        Tlic  First  Presbyterian  ChurcJi  of  Jersey  City. 

Here,  then,  we  close  the  record.  The  old  school  has 
passed  away.  Its  work  is  done.  It  is  now  about  thirty-one 
years  since  the  writer  first  entered  it ;  more  than  thirty  since 
he  first  became  its  Secretary.  Of  the  259  persons  whose 
names  are  on  the  first  roll  made  up  by  him  in  1858,  only  two 
now  remain  in  the  school — Mrs.  Mary  Johnston  and  the 
writer.  Looking  back  over  that  long  period  we  can  but  give 
thanks  to  God  for  the  good  that  we  know  has  been  accom- 
plished by  the  old  school,  and  hope  that  His  blessing  may 
continue  to  rest  upon  its  successor. 

James  R.  Henry. 

Jersey  City,  October,  1888. 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Ubraries 


1012  01272  7691 


